Levy Mwanawasa

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Lore & Background

Levy Mwanawasa was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia, as the second of 10 children. He held a law degree from the University of Zambia. He worked in private law firms from 1974 until 1978 when he formed his own firm: Mwanawasa & Company. In 1985, Mwanawasa served as Solicitor General in the Zambian government but went back to private practice in 1986. In 1989, he led the legal defence team for Lt. Gen Christon Tembo, who was accused by the Kenneth Kaunda government of conspiracy to overthrow the government, which was judged as an act of treason worthy of the death penalty; Tembo won the case against the state, and Mwanawasa's fame among the anti-Kaunda opposition grew. After Frederick Chiluba was elected as president, he appointed Mwanawasa as vice-president in November 1991. Mwanawasa left his firm in March 1992. On 8 December 1991 Mwanawasa was involved in a serious traffic accident in which his aide died on the spot. He suffered multiple body injuries and was flown to Johannesburg, South Africa for medical treatment. He remained hospitalised for three months. A lasting effect of the accident was his noticeably slurred speech. A commission of inquiry was set up to investigate who was responsible for the alleged assassination attempt. Mwanawasa served as vice-president until he resigned in July 1994. In 1996 he unsuccessfully challenged Chiluba for the presidency of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy. After the loss, Mwanawasa retired from politics until the 2001 election.

Reader's Guide

In August 2001, the National Executive Committee of MMD elected Mwanawasa as its presidential candidate for the 2001 election. He won the election, held on 27 December 2001, with 29% due to Zambia's first past the post system, beating 10 other candidates including two other former vice-presidents (Godfrey Miyanda and Gen. Christon Tembo); Anderson Mazoka came in a close second with 27%, according to official results. Mwanawasa took office on 2 January 2002. However, the results were disputed by main opposition parties, and some domestic and international election monitors cited serious irregularities. In January 2002, three opposition candidates petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn Mwanawasa's victory. While the court agreed that the poll was flawed, it ruled in February 2005 that the irregularities did not affect the results and declined the petition. In February 2002, Mwanawasa's government filed defamation charges against The Post editor Fred M'membe and opposition lawmaker Dipak Patel for an article in which M'membe quoted Patel as calling Mwanawasa a 'cabbage'. In February 2003, Mwanawasa appointed a number of opposition lawmakers to his cabinet, including Patel as Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry. In January 2005, Mwanawasa apologised to the nation for failing to tackle Zambian poverty; about 75% of the country's population lived on less than $1 a day. He was elected as president of the MMD for a five-year term in 2005. Mwanawasa ran for a second term in the presidential election held on 28 September 2006. His re-election was confirmed on 2 October; according to official results, he received 42.98% of the vote. He was sworn in for another term on 3 October and named Rupiah Banda as vice-president. Foreign investors liked Mwanawasa, owing partly to his anti-corruption drive. During his presidency, Zambia received foreign investment. The main driver of economic growth was minerals. Mwanawasa's policies helped to lower inflation and spread some benefits to the poor. Overall, economic growth increased to about 6% per year. Mwanawasa criticised President Robert Mugabe of neighbouring Zimbabwe, one of the first African leaders to publicly do so. In April 2006, Mwanawasa experienced a mild stroke. On 29 June 2008, while in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for an African Union summit, Mwanawasa was hospitalised due to a second stroke. He was evacuated to France for further treatment. Vice-President Banda became acting president. Mwanawasa died on 19 August 2008.

Did You Know?

• Mwanawasa led the legal defence team for Lt. Gen Christon Tembo, who was accused of treason and faced the death penalty; Tembo won the case.
• On 8 December 1991 Mwanawasa was in a serious traffic accident that killed his aide; he was hospitalised for three months and left with noticeably slurred speech.
• Mwanawasa won the 2001 presidential election with 29% of the vote under Zambia's first past the post system, beating 10 other candidates.
• In January 2005, Mwanawasa apologised to the nation for failing to tackle poverty, as about 75% of Zambians lived on less than $1 a day.
• Mwanawasa was one of the first African leaders to publicly criticise Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe.