Yahya Jammeh had been ruling the tiny West African country with an iron fist for 22 years when he unexpectedly lost the 2016 presidential elections to his opponent Adama Barrow. ECOWAS troops were sent to Gambia to convince Jammeh to accept his defeat and step down. In January 2017, he finally left for exile in Equatorial Guinea, but not before plundering the country's state coffers.

Joseph Kony, head of the brutal "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA), is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Uganda and the US announced in April they would stop hunting Kony since the LRA had become irrelevant. The UN, however, attributes fresh kidnappings in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the LRA.

Africa's most populous nation suffered from the absence of 74-year old President Muhammadu Buhari, who was in London for medical treatment for three months. Islamist militant group Boko Haram repeatedly carried out deadly attacks in Nigeria's northeast, where millions of people depend on food aid.

Several people were killed and many more wounded after the symbolic announcement of independence of Cameroon's English-speaking region in October. International observers said at least 40 people died in the clashes. The region in the country's southwest had declared an independent state of "Ambazonia" because people in the region feel neglected by the French-speaking majority.

Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta was sworn in for a second term, but opposition leader Raila Odinga refused to accept the election result. The country's Supreme Court had previously nullified the initial vote in August due to voting irregularities. The opposition then boycotted the repeat vote in October. There were clashes with dozens killed.

Runoff elections to choose a successor to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf were postponed after two parties had launched complaints with Liberia's election commission over alleged fraud during the October polls. Those claims were then rejected, meaning the runoff between former Vice President Joseph Boakai and former soccer star George Weah can go ahead.

For the past four years, people in South Sudan, the world's youngest nation, have been suffering due to the conflict between supporters of President Salva Kiir and his former deputy Riek Machar. A third of the population has been displaced from their homes. About five million people - that's half of South Sudan's population - go hungry. Arable land has been destroyed by fighting, the UN said.

A truck full of explosives detonated at a busy intersection in Somalia's capital Mogadishu in mid-October, killing hundreds of people. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack which has been described as the worst in the history of the East African nation. The government blames the terror group al-Shabab for the bombing.

The West African nation has been grappling with crises for six years: First a coup, then a separatist uprising in the north followed by a jihadist insurgency. The 11,000-strong UN peace-keeping mission has repeatedly been attacked - in January, 77 soldiers were killed in the worst attack to date. Al-Qaeda-linked fighters claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing.

After 37 years in power, Zimbabwe's military put President Robert Mugabe under house arrest after he fired his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa to install his wife as vice President. 93-year-old Mugabe then quit amid impeachment proceedings. Mnangagwa was sworn in as president, but has since disappointed those who had hoped he would include opposition members in his cabinet.

President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo has already served the two terms allowed by the country's constitution. Even though his second term finished at the end of 2016, he kept postponing new elections. They are now scheduled for the end of 2018. Police have stifled street protests and arrested demonstrators, opposition groups say.

Corruption allegations involving South African President Jacob Zuma and the wealthy Gupta family have picked up during the year. International companies were accused of having paid kickbacks in order to win government contracts. The country's economy is suffering with unemployment rates hovering around 30 percent. The fight over who gets to replace Zuma is expected to pick up steam in 2018.

Imran Kahn's Tehreek-e-Insaf party has won the most seats in Pakistan's general election. As a cricketer Kahn did it all. An "all-rounder," he claimed more than 350 test wickets with the ball and averaged almost 40 runs with the bat. Among his numerous achievements was captaining Pakistan to the 1992 Cricket World Cup title.

George Weah, representing the Coalition for Democratic Change, won more than 60 percent of the vote in the runoff of the 2017 Liberan presidential election against the incumbent Vice President Joseph Boakai. As a footballer, he played for AS Monaco, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan. In 1995 he was named the FIFA World Player of the Year.

Like his brother Wladimir, Vitali Klitschko fought in the ring into his 40s, but Vitali had already begun a political career while still dominating heavyweight boxing. He first fought to be mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv in 2006, but only won the job in 2014 after Ukraine's "Maidan" revolution. His fairly fluent German comes in handy when Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel (r.) visits.

Boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao has become a staunch supporter of hardline Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte since hanging up his gloves. Duterte has said more than once that he expects the former champ, now a senator, to succeed him as president. Pacquiao has stood up for some of Duterte's more contentious policies, like his war on drugs, mentioning his own drug addiction as a youth.

Romario de Souza Faria wore the number 11 and partnered Bebeto up front when Brazil won the 1994 World Cup. Only Pele and Ronaldo have scored more for the Selecao. Now he's a sitting senator for Rio de Janeiro, representing the Socialist party of former presidents Lula and Dilma Rousseff.

Judy Martz has often been first among Montana women. In 1964, competing in the 1,500-meter speed skating, she became one of the first two women from the state to go to the Olympics. In January 2001, she became the state's first female governor. At least for now, she remains Montana's only one. Republican Martz served one term, until 2005, and didn't run for a second.

Montreal Canadiens goaltender and NHL Hall of Famer Ken Dryden — so tall they called him the "four-story goalie" — won the Stanley Cup in his 1971 debut season. He went on to win five more that decade. By 2004, though, Dryden was drafted as a "star candidate" for the Liberal Party of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He held a seat for seven years, and later even sought the party leadership.

Most know him either as The Terminator or as former governor of California, but it all began for Arnold Schwarzenegger as a pro bodybuilder. Aged 23, he became the youngest ever "Mr. Olympia." California's 38th Governor was first elected in 2003 in a special recall election, and was then elected to a second, full term in 2006. He later returned to acting and a Terminator reboot — "I'll be back."

NBA Hall of Famer Bill Bradley is that rarest of things: a New York Knick with a championship ring to his name. He was part of the 1970 and '73 chamionship teams, the only NBA titles the Knicks have ever won. But he also majored in history at Princeton and grew up a political animal. As a Democrat, he served almost two decades as a New Jersey Senator, even seeking the 2000 presidential nomination.

Enlisting Sebastian Coe was quite a coup for Britain's Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher. Winner of the 1,500-meter gold in 1980 and 1984, Coe was an MP by 1992. But he lost his seat in the next election. He was made a Lord, a permanent member of Britain's upper house, in 2000. But he's best known for his work as an ambassador for London's 2012 Olympics, and as current president of the IAAF.

An A-list celebrity in the former East Germany, Gustav-Adolf "Täve" Schur was snapped up by the party apparatus early on. Aged just 27 he was already a member of the East German parliament, serving in it from 1958 until its abolition in 1990. After reunification, he served a term in the federal parliament for a socialist party. Some said he shouldn't have got a spot in cycling's hall of fame.

Most remember the 38th President of the United States as the vice president thrown into the breach by Richard Nixon's resignation. But Gerald R. Ford was also an important water carrier for the University of Michigan's college football team in the 1932-34 seasons. In the first two of those, the "Wolverines" went undefeated.

Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians lined the streets to bid farewell in 1994, after treble F1 champion Ayrton Senna was killed at the San Marino Grand Prix. An aggressive bully on the track, Senna was a different person out of the cockpit: fiercely religious, philanthropic and visibly pained by the plight of Brazil's poorest. Many in the F1 paddock were convinced he'd go into politics one day.