First Lady of Zambia

First Lady of Zambia
Incumbent Mutinta Hichilema since 24 August 2021
Inaugural holder	Betty Kaunda
Formation	24 October 1964

First Lady of Zambia is the title attributed to the wife of the president of Zambia. Zambia's current first lady is Mutinta Hichilema, who has held the office since 24 August 2021.

The first lady of Zambia plays the ceremonial role of the spouse of the head of state, but has often expanded their influence beyond that. For example, the wife of the country's founding president, Betty Kaunda, was viewed as the mother of the nation and known as "Mama Kaunda." ^[1] Maureen Mwanawasa used her platform as First Lady to be a strong advocate for safer sex for women, often handing out condoms at public events. ^[2]

List of first ladies

Acting First Lady

  Denotes Acting First Lady

Others

  Denotes the first lady married the president but died in office

  Denotes the first lady married the president but later divorced

  Denotes the first lady married the president, but the president later died

  Denotes the first lady was a daughter or sister of the sitting president

List of officeholders

Pres. No.	Image	Born/Died	First Lady	Term start	Term end	President (Spouse, unless noted)
1		(1928–2013)	Betty Kaunda [3]	24 October 1964 [3]	2 November 1991 [3]	Kenneth Kaunda m. 1946; died 2013
2		(1951–)	Vera Tembo	2 November 1991	2000 (divorced in 2001) [4]	Frederick Chiluba m. ????; div 2001
No First Lady/office vacant; Vera Tembo [5] is divorced in 2001 but she is out of power as first lady of Zambia in 2000s.				2000	2001
-			Verocia Chiluba	2001	2 January 2002	Frederick Chiluba Daughter
3		(1963–2024)	Maureen Mwanawasa	2 January 2002	19 August 2008	Levy Mwanawasa m. 1988; his death 2008
4		(1972–)	Thandiwe Banda [6]	29 June 2008	23 September 2011	Rupiah Banda m. 2002; his death 2022
5		(1959–)	Christine Kaseba	23 September 2011	28 October 2014	Michael Sata m. 1994; his death 2014
-		(1963–)	Charlotte Scott	28 October 2014	26 January 2015	Guy Scott m. 1994
6		(1961–)	Esther Lungu	26 January 2015	24 August 2021	Edgar Lungu m. 1986-87
7		(1967–)	Mutinta Hichilema	24 August 2021	Incumbent	Hakainde Hichilema m. ????

List of living First Ladies of Zambia

• Vera Tembo (1951-)
• Christine Kaseba (1959-)
• Esther Lungu (1961-)
• Charlotte Scott (1963-)

List of spouses of president but not the first lady

Press. No.	Image	Born/Died	Name	President (Spouse, unlles noted)
2		(___?-2017)	Regina Mwanza	Frederick Chiluba m. 2002; his death 2011
4		(1941-2000)	Hope Mwansa Makulu	Rupiah Banda m. 1966; died 2000
5		(___?-___?)	Margaret Manda	Michael Sata m. ????; died ????

See also

• President of Zambia

References

1. James Butty, VOA staff writer (September 20, 2012). "Zambians Mourn Death of Former First Lady Betty Kaunda". VOA. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
2. Violet Mengo, writer for the Daily Mail in Zambia and member of the Gender and Media Southern African (GEMSA) Network. (November 5, 2005). "Zambian First Lady urges women to demand safe sex". AFROL News. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
3. Udoh, Nse (2012-09-19). "Founding First Lady Betty Kaunda Passes Away at 84". Zambia Reports . Archived from the original on 2012-09-23. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
4. Simwanza, Obert (2011-06-18). "Zambia's ex-president Chiluba dies". Independent Online (South Africa) . Retrieved 2012-09-19.
5. Simwanza, Obert (2011-06-18). "Zambia's ex-president Chiluba dies". Independent Online (South Africa) . Retrieved 2012-09-19.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Warunga, Joseph (2010-05-17). "Meeting the first ladies of Africa". BBC News . Retrieved 2012-07-30.