Just five years after being dramatically unseated by a court ruling, Peter Mutharika is set to return to power as the president of Malawi.
Mutharika, who held the top job from 2014 to 2020, triumphed in last week's general election, usurping his long-time rival, President Lazarus Chakwera.
Mutharika told voters on the campaign trail that life was simply better under him - Malawi has experienced one of its worst ever economic downturns since Chakwera took office.
But the record of 85-year-old Mutharika has its own blemishes, from corruption allegations to the debacle that ended his first presidency.
This is the fourth time he has run for office, but initially, Mutharika did not intend to go into politics. Born in 1940 in the tea-growing region of Thyolo, he was raised by two teachers and developed a love for education.
I grew up in a family where my parents were educators, and myself I spent all my life in higher education, at seven universities on three continents, Mutharika commented in 2017, during an address at the UK's Oxford University.
Mutharika went on to become a professor, building an expertise in international justice. He spent decades away from Malawi teaching at universities in the US, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
Mutharika eventually pivoted to politics in 2004, when his older brother, Bingu, became Malawi's president.
Mutharika returned home to serve as an adviser to the new president and in 2009, he was elected as an MP for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). He served in his brother's cabinet as justice minister, education minister, and then foreign minister.
Mutharika scaled the heights of power relatively peacefully, but tensions emerged in 2010 amid reports that Bingu planned to name his brother as the DPP's presidential candidate for the 2014 elections.
Every week, chiefs from all over the country are paraded on national television to sing praises of Peter Mutharika... Many of the public are outraged, considering this blatant nepotism, Malawian journalist Francis Chuma wrote.
But the succession plans were abruptly interrupted in April 2012.
At the age of 78, the president suffered a cardiac arrest and died. Mutharika paid a glowing tribute to the late leader at his funeral, describing him as my brother, my friend and also my hero.
With the presidency vacant, a power struggle ensued. Malawi's constitution stipulated that if the head of state dies in office, the vice-president takes over, but Bingu had fallen out with his vice-president, Joyce Banda.
When the president died, his supporters tried to install Mutharika as leader, but ultimately Banda prevailed and became Malawi's first female president.
Mutharika was charged with treason after being accused of being part of a plot to hide his brother's death to give him time to maneuver against Banda's presidency.
He dismissed the charges as frivolous and politically motivated, which were later dropped after he was elected president in 2014.
Mutharika's supporters say his first stint in power uplifted Malawi. Under his leadership, inflation dropped significantly, but corruption remained a persistent issue.
Having run for a second term in 2019 only to lose it in an unprecedented court ruling, Mutharika announced his comeback this year, promising to save Malawi under the weight of economic hardship and soaring inflation.
During the recent campaign, he often resonated with the voters by asking whether they missed him amid their suffering, but many questioned both his health and stamina for the role at 85.
This return to the presidency may be fraught with challenges, but the public's trust in Mutharika demonstrates their desire for change and improvement in their everyday lives.
With an in-tray full of pressing issues, Mutharika’s governance will be closely monitored as Malawi seeks to recover from a painful economic period.
