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Laurent Gbagbo once fought for democracy in Ivory Coast, but his inability to let go of power proved his downfall and he pushed his once-prosperous country to the brink of civil war.

The fiery leader who refused to accept election defeat to rival Alassane Ouattara in 2010 goes on trial in The Hague this week for crimes against humanity linked to the violence that followed the ballot.

The standoff lasted for four months, with fighting claiming more than 3,000 lives and turning Abidjan, one of Africa's most cosmopolitan cities, into a war zone.

The proud and stubborn leader was defiant to the last, when rival forces pulled him, crushed and subdued, from his presidential bunker in a grubby sleeveless white undershirt.

Gbagbo will be the first head of state to go before the International Criminal Court after being extradited to The Hague in 2011 for allegedly masterminding a campaign of murders, rapes and persecution during the crisis.

He adamantly denied the charges, telling the court: "All my life, I fought for democracy."