FACTBOX- Key facts about South Africa's Jacob Zuma

(Reuters) - Jacob Zuma on Saturday delivered his first policy address to South Africa's ruling African National Congress as the party's president, calling for unity within the party divided after a bitter leadership race.

Zuma was elected leader of the ruling African National Congress on December 18, defeating President Thabo Mbeki.

Here are some key facts about Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, born April 12, 1942:

* A former member of the ANC's military wing, Zuma rose to become head of intelligence in the party, a post that gave him leverage over allies and opponents alike. Like Nelson Mandela, he was imprisoned on Robben Island for conspiring to overthrow white rule, spending 10 years in jail before going into exile.

* Zuma was South Africa's deputy president for six years before he was sacked in 2005 by President Thabo Mbeki after he was implicated in a graft trial that saw his former financial adviser, Schabir Shaik, convicted on fraud and corruption charges.

* Zuma was acquitted of rape charges in May 2006.

* The National Prosecuting Authority charged Zuma with corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering on December 28 eight days after he won the party leadership.

* Earthy and approachable, the ethnic Zulu from KwaZulu-Natal province has earned respect as a peacemaker at home, mediating between the ANC and the Zulu-dominated Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) at the height of violence in the early 1990s to head off a possible civil war.

* Zuma's position in the ANC strikes a tribal balance in an organisation perceived to be dominated by leaders from the Xhosa tribe of Mandela and Mbeki.