The politics of Zambia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president of Zambia is head of state, head of government and leader of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government, while legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Formerly Northern Rhodesia, Zambia became a republic immediately upon attaining independence in October 1964.
Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development and second largest city in terms of size and population in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 Kitwe is one of the most developed commercial and industrial areas in the nation, alongside Ndola and Lusaka. It has a complex of mines on its north-western and western edges.
Hakainde Hichilema is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016, he won the 2021 presidential election with 59.02% of the vote. He has led the United Party for National Development since 2006 following the death of the party founder Anderson Mazoka.
Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 20 January 2015 to elect a president to serve the remainder of the term of President Michael Sata, following his death on 28 October 2014.
General elections were held in Zambia on 11 August 2016 to elect the President and National Assembly. A constitutional referendum was held alongside the elections, with proposals to amend the bill of rights and Article 79.
Christine Kaseba is a Zambian physician, surgeon and politician who served as the First Lady of Zambia from September 2011 until her husband's death in October 2014. She is the widow of former President Michael Sata, who died in office on October 28, 2014. Kaseba made an unsuccessful bid for President of Zambia in the January 2015 special presidential election to succeed her husband. She was appointed Zambian Ambassador to France on April 16, 2018.
Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 26 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence. Following Sata's death in October 2014, Lungu was adopted as the candidate of the Patriotic Front in a Convention of the Patriotic Front in Kabwe, for the January 2015 presidential by-election, which was to determine who would serve out the remainder of Sata's term. In the election, he narrowly defeated opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema and took office on 25 January 2015.
Esther Nyawa Lungu is a well-known public figure from Zambia, who served as the First Lady of the country from 25 January 2015 to 24 August 2021. She is the wife of the former Zambian president Edgar Lungu, and together they have six children. Born on 2 June 1957, her parents originally hailed from Zambia's Eastern Province.
Catherine Phiri is a Zambian professional boxer. She held the WBC female bantamweight title from 2016 to 2017 and challenged twice for the WBC female super-bantamweight title in 2017 and 2019.
The inauguration of Edgar Lungu as the 6th president of Zambia took place on 13 September 2016. This was the second time Edgar Lungu took the oath after he first took office on 25 January 2015. Edgar Lungu took the oath alongside Inonge Wina as Vice-President of Zambia. The day of the inauguration was set as a public holiday in Zambia and Monday September 12 as a half working day.
Joyce Nonde-Simukoko is a Zambian politician. She was appointed the Minister of Labour and Social Security in the Cabinet of Zambia by President Edgar Chagwa Lungu on 15 September 2016.
Likando Kalaluka, State Counsel, is a Zambian legal practitioner who served as Attorney General under the government headed by President Edgar Lungu. He is a lawyer and advocate of the High Court for Zambia. Kalaluka is currently serving as the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education (ZIALE) board chairman. As Attorney General, Kalaluka was an assistant cabinet member and assistant legal adviser to the Zambian Government.
Lombe Phyllis Chibesakunda is a Zambian lawyer and diplomat. She has been the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Zambia, Solicitor General, Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, acting Chief Justice of Zambia, and has served as an Ambassador to Japan, the United Kingdom, the Vatican, and the Netherlands. Chibesakunda is the first woman president of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Court of Justice in Khartoum, Sudan.
Joseph Kalimbwe is a Zambian politician, author and activist. Previously, he was president of the African Union youth simulation in 2014 and president of the student representative council of the University of Namibia in 2017. He has written for the Namibian Sun, and has published three books including Persecuted in Search of Change in 2017, The Pain of An Empty Stomach in 2015 and Teenage-Hood & the Impact of the Western World in 2014.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Zambia was a part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Zambia in March 2020.
General elections were held in Zambia on 12 August 2021 to elect the President, National Assembly, mayors, council chairs and councillors. Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development was elected president, defeating incumbent Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front.
Events in the year 2021 in Zambia.
Robert Ngosa Simbyakula is a Zambian diplomat, the current and 17th Permanent Representative of the Republic of Zambia to the United Nations and a former ambassador to the United States of America in Washington DC, he succeeded Palan Mulonda, who served starting in 2013.
Edgar Lungu's eligibility to run in the 2026 Elections remains a contentious and ongoing legal issue. Lungu, who served as the sixth President of Zambia from January 2015 to August 2021, assumed office following the death of President Michael Sata. After winning the 2015 presidential election and being re-elected in 2016, he was defeated by Hakainde Hichilema in the 2021 general election. The controversy centers on whether his partial term from 2015 should count towards the two-term limit stipulated by the Zambian Constitution.
