Nov 12 (Reuters) - Algerian lawmakers approved on Wednesday the lifting of presidential term limits, a move seen by opposition parties in the OPEC member state as aimed at letting President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stay in office for life.

Here are details about some African leaders who have taken similar measures to prolong their rule:

* BURKINA FASO - Blaise Compaore - Compaore, who seized power in 1987, removed a limit on terms in 1997. He won a third term in 2005 with a landslide victory.

* CAMEROON - Paul Biya - Cameroon's national assembly adopted a constitutional bill in April 2006 removing a two-term presidential limit to allow Biya to extend his 25-year rule in the central African country past 2011.

* CHAD - Idriss Deby - Deby, who took power in a coup in 1990, won a third term in 2006 after a referendum the year before removed a two-term limit.

* GABON - Omar Bongo - Bongo came to power in 1967 and is Africa's longest-serving ruler. He secured a change in the law in 2003 so he can seek re-election as many times as he wants.

* GUINEA - Lansana Conte - Conte won disputed elections in 1993, 1998 and 2003 after a change in the constitution allowed him a third term. His current mandate expires in 2010. * TUNISIA - Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali - Ben Ali, who took office in 1987, won nearly 100 percent approval for 2002 reforms to let him keep standing for re-election.

* UGANDA - Yoweri Museveni - Museveni, in power since 1986, won re-election in February 2006 after he changed the constitution in 2005 to let him stand for a third term.

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