Dilma Rousseff (71) was the first woman to win Brazil’s presidency.
She was removed from office, at the beginning of 2017, for obstruction of justice. The impeachment process led to prolonged street protests in her country.
Last month, she married an uncle of her daughter Camila Correa, after more than 40 years of being unmarried.
Last year she reported herself to the government’s medical office, after reporting “mental and psychological fatigue” – her office said that she was suffering from anxiety, but also anxiety attacks and sleeplessness.
She has taken several medical leave in recent years after breaking up with her husband, João Santana, in 2010 and then after being diagnosed with throat cancer.
Last year she celebrated her 71st birthday at the presidential palace, after serving a second term as president.
It is the third time a former president has been found guilty of corruption. Fernando Henrique Cardoso was imprisoned in 2002, while Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was convicted in 2014.
Since Rousseff’s impeachment, her successor, Michel Temer, has been increasingly criticised, with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo describing his foreign policy as “careless” and “incoherent”.