When he married Bhutto, the icon of the anti-establishment cause in Pakistan, he became the designated fall guy. Close friends said, "Zardari knew this and accepted it. He walked into the marriage knowing it would always be about her, and never about him."
They had three children -- son Bilawal and daughters Baktawar and Asifa.
He was made a minister after his wife's PPP took power in 1993. In 1996, he was arrested under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance. He found himself charged with the murder of Mir Murtaza Bhutto, his wife's brother.
Zardari was kept in custody from 1997 to 2004 on charges ranging from corruption to murder. He was granted bail in November 2004. However, he was re-arrested on December 21, 2004 after his failure to attend a hearing in a murder trial.
He was also charged, along with his wife, and convicted in a kickbacks scam involving a Swiss company.
In August 2004, Zardari admitted owning a 4.35 million pounds estate in
Surrey, England -- including a 20-room mansion and two farms on 365 acres of land -- which the Pakistani authorities allege was bought with the proceeds of corruption.
Image: Chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari with his father Asif Ali Zardari.
Photographs: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: The men in Benazir's life
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