Zambian leader, 59, dies from June stroke
Posted on Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, who oversaw a revival of the southern African nation’s economy and clamped down on corruption during his six-year tenure, died Tuesday in a Paris hospital after suffering a stroke in June. He was 59.
“Dr. Levy Mwanawasa passed away this morning at 10: 30 a.m. at Percy Military Hospital,” Vice President Rupiah Banda said in a brief statement on the Web site of the presidency. Under Zambia’s constitution, Banda, 71, will serve as acting president until elections are called. The poll must be held by Feb. 19.
Mwanawasa’s legacy will be policies that resulted in credible investors looking at Zambia as the best destination in Africa, Bob Sichinga, a Lusaka-based political and economic analyst, said by phone Tuesday.
“He changed the perception of corruption by fighting and jailing economic plunderers,” Sichinga said.
His death has left a “hole” in Zambian politics, John Mangwende, a political analyst, said by phone from the capital, Lusaka.
Mwanawasa suffered a stroke in Egypt on June 29, while attending an African Union summit. On July 1, he was flown to Paris for treatment. As leader of Africa’s biggest copper producer, Mwanawasa implemented policies that boosted investment in the mining industry and encouraged increased agricultural production.
The Zambian constitution requires the acting president or vice president to announce the date for an election within 90 days of an incumbent president’s death.
“We don’t expect, particularly over the next six months, any diversion in policy,” said Yvonne Mhango, a Johannesburg, South Africa-based economist at Standard Bank Group Ltd. “Policy was not only owned by Mwanawasa. He had a very able minister of finance in Ng’andu Mgande and central bank governor in Caleb Fundanga. The concern is what happens after snap elections. There isn’t an obvious successor for Mwanawasa.” Born in the northern town of Mufulira on Sept. 3, 1948, Mwanawasa studied law at the University of Zambia. Before becoming a full-time politician, he ran his own legal practice and served as the country’s solicitorgeneral.
He joined the opposition Movement for Multiparty Democracy upon its formation in 1990, and was elected its vice president the same year. When party leader Frederick Chiluba succeeded Kenneth Kaunda as president in 1991, he named Mwanawasa his deputy.
After Chiluba failed in his bid to amend the constitution to extend his rule beyond a maximum two terms, the party chose Mwanawasa as its presidential candidate for 2001 elections, which he won by a margin of 2 percentage points. He was elected for a second five-year term in 2006, extending his winning margin to 13 percent.
Shortly after taking office, Mwanawasa accused his predecessor of stealing state funds, and in November 2003 Zambia’s High Court ordered Chiluba to stand trial. The case is still before the courts. Chiluba denies any wrongdoing.
Zambian economic growth accelerated to 6. 2 percent last year, from 4. 9 percent in 2001, while inflation slowed to the lowest level in more than three decades during Mwanawasa’s rule. The number of people living on less than $ 1 a day fell to 64 percent in 2006, down from 75 percent when he took office, according to government figures.
Mwanawasa recently broke ranks with other African leaders and criticized Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who claimed victory in a violenceridden election on June 27 that was boycotted by the opposition. Mwanawasa is survived by his wife, Maureen, and six children. Information for this article was contributed from Paris by Helene Fouquet and from New York by Stewart Bailey of Bloomberg News.
FEEDBACK:
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
