Former Ivory Coast First Lady Simone Gbagbo has gone from hiding in a bunker in an attempt to avoid arrest to defiantly announcing she will run for president.
In an extraordinary comeback, the controversial 76-year-old was this week surprisingly allowed to contest October's elections, calling on supporters to help 'build a new nation'.
For years, Gbagbo worked side-by-side with her ex-husband Laurent, and was considered to be the power behind his throne.
Now, with a criminal conviction and a divorce behind her, she takes centre stage as a presidential candidate in her own right.
Gbagbo was Ivory Coast's first lady from 2000 to 2011 and was dubbed 'the iron lady' due to her reputation for toughness.
While her supporters fondly called her 'maman' (French for 'mum'), Gbagbo was feared within the party she set up with her husband, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI).
All the ministers respect me. And they often consider me above them, she told French magazine L'Express during her husband's presidency.
At rallies, Gbagbo often invoked her evangelist Christian faith, firing off spirited, eloquent speeches in support of her husband.
Gbagbo met Laurent in 1973, at a time when both were powerful figures in Ivory Coast's trade union movement.
Gbagbo had degrees in history and linguistics, and as a teacher, was a key member of various educators' unions.
The couple's relationship was also built on the struggle against then-president Félix Houphouët-Boigny.
The Gbagbos protested against Houphouët-Boigny's autocracy, which lasted for 33 years, calling for multi-party democracy.
As a result of their activism, the pair were jailed several times.
I engaged in political struggle against the former regime alongside men, Gbagbo recalled In her l'Express interview.
In 1982 the pair co-founded the FPI. That same year, Laurent fled to France following harassment from Houphouët-Boigny's security forces and Gbagbo was left to raise the couple's twin daughters alone.
After six years apart, Laurent returned and the pair married in an intimate ceremony, with less than 10 guests present.
The Gbagbos soon had further cause for celebration. In 1990 Houphouët-Boigny finally caved in, allowing the first national elections in Ivory Coast since independence three decades earlier.
Laurent decided to run for president, his wife a key figure in his campaign.
In an election marred by allegations of widespread rigging, Laurent lost the presidential race to Houphouët-Boigny by a landslide.
He did, however, win a seat in the National Assembly and five years later, his wife gained one too.
Gbagbo campaigned for her husband once again when he ran for president in 2000. This time, he won, after all other opposition candidates had been excluded by the military leaders who had seized power.
But, once a champion of democracy, the new president began adopting draconian measures to stifle political dissent.
It is thought his wife had huge influence over the security forces, who were used by the administration to silence opposition voices.
In a surprise result, he lost to Alassane Ouattara - Ivory Coast's current president - but refused to accept the result. This attempt to stay put sparked another devastating civil war.
Eventually, as pro-Ouattara forces backed by French troops advanced on the presidential residence, the couple took refuge in a bunker.
At her trial five years later, Gbagbo described her detention at the hotel after their arrest. She was later sentenced to 20 years.
Following her conviction, President Ouattara granted Gbagbo an amnesty, enabling her to stand in the upcoming election.
Gbagbo founded a new party, the leftist Movement of Capable Generations (MGC) and aims to 'modernize' Ivory Coast.
With her candidacy, Gbagbo could become the first female president of Ivory Coast, marking yet another milestone in her turbulent political career.
