May 16 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe said on Friday it would hold a delayed presidential election run-off on June 27 in which opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai hopes to oust veteran leader Robert Mugabe after almost 30 years in power.

Below are some key facts about Tsvangirai:

* Tsvangirai is a former union leader who has been a thorn in Mugabe's side for a decade as the head of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the main opposition group.

* The son of a bricklayer, Tsvangirai was born in 1952 in central Zimbabwe.

* He worked in a mine to feed his family and cut his political teeth in the labour movement as a mine foreman.

* Tsvangirai helped found the MDC in 1999. Despite intimidation, it stunned the ruling party by winning 57 of 120 seats at stake in a 2000 parliamentary vote.

* Tsvangirai was acquitted of plotting to assassinate President Robert Mugabe and seize power before 2002 presidential elections.

* Mugabe's party won a crushing majority in a 2005 parliamentary election, which the MDC said was rigged.

* The MDC split in 2005 in a bitter feud over how to tackle Mugabe. A splinter group accused Tsvangirai of behaving in a dictatorial fashion.

* Tsvangirai was arrested at an anti-Mugabe rally in 2007. He said he had been attacked at a police station. Critics said the incident help revive his sagging political fortunes.

* The long-awaited second round follows the disputed 2008 presidential elections in which official results showed Tsvangirai beat Mugabe, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off. For a related story, please click on [nL16830897] (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)

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