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FILE - In this Dec. 31, 1987 file photo Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is sworn in as Zimbabwe's first executive president by former president Canaan Banana. Mugabe seemed almost untouchable for much of his nearly four-decade rule. Shrewd and ruthless, he managed to stay in power despite advancing age, growing opposition, international sanctions and the dissolving economy of a once-prosperous African nation. Now, the apparent abrupt end of the Mugabe era is launching Zimbabwe into the unknown. It's a humbling close to the career of a man who crushed dissent or sidelined opponents after leading Zimbabwe since 1980. (AP Photo/Peter Winterbach, File)