President of the Republic of Zambia | |
---|---|
![]() Presidential Flag | |
Status | Head of state Head of government |
Residence | State House |
Term length | 5 years, renewable once |
Inaugural holder | Kenneth Kaunda |
Formation | 24 October 1964 |
Deputy | Vice-President of Zambia |
Salary | 1,280,299 Zambian kwacha/63,100 USD annually [1] |
Website | https://www.sh.gov.zm/ |
![]() |
---|
![]() |
The president of Zambia is the head of state and the head of government of Zambia. The office was first held by Kenneth Kaunda following independence in 1964. Since 1991, when Kaunda left the presidency, the office has been held by seven others: Frederick Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa, Rupiah Banda, Michael Sata, Edgar Lungu and the current president Hakainde Hichilema, who won the 2021 presidential election. In addition, acting president Guy Scott served in an interim capacity after the death of President Michael Sata.
Since 31 August 1991 the president is also the head of government, as the position of Prime Minister was abolished in the last months of Kaunda's presidential term following negotiations with opposition parties.
The president is elected for a term of five years. Since 1991, There is a two-term limit for the president in the Constitution of Zambia. There was an attempt to modify the term limits in 2001 for Chiluba, but it did not materialize. [2]
When the British colony of Northern Rhodesia was separated from Southern Rhodesia and British South Africa Company rule, the head of state was the British Monarch represented in the colony by the Governor of Northern Rhodesia who exercised executive power as head of state and government. In the 1964 Northern Rhodesian general election, the office of Prime Minister of Northern Rhodesia was created to become the head of government ahead of independence. On 19 May 1964, the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Duncan Sandys announced that Northern Rhodesia would become independent under a President. The election for the first President would be held by secret ballot amongst the elected members of the Legislative Council. [3]
Upon independence and the renaming of the country as Zambia, Prime Minister Kenneth Kaunda was elected as the first President. The office of Prime Minister was also abolished making the presidency an executive post. [4] Initially, the country would be governed as a multi-party democracy. However, following the African National Congress integrating with United National Independence Party (UNIP), President Kaunda announced that the Constitution of Zambia would be changed to turn the country into a one-party state in 1973 with UNIP as the only legal party with all others banned. [5] Kaunda claimed this was done to discourage tribalism. [6] However, the constitution also restored the office of Prime Minister as head of government. [7] In the 1973 Zambian general election, voters were only able to vote for the UNIP sponsored Kaunda and their only options were to vote if they approved or rejected his candidacy. [8]
Kaunda was re-elected unanimously at each election until 1991. During the 1980s, pressures increased for the multi-party ban to be rescinded. After negotiations with the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in 1990, President Kaunda signed a constitutional amendment legalising political parties other than UNIP. The office of Prime Minister was abolished again and the powers returned to the President. [9] In the 1991 Zambian general election, Kaunda was defeated by the MMD's Frederick Chiluba. [6] Kaunda agreed to hand over the presidency peacefully, becoming the second African leader to do so after Mathieu Kérékou of Benin. [10]
In 1996, President Chiluba allegedly discovered a plot by members of UNIP to carry out a coup d'état and declared a state of emergency to arrest UNIP members. However the Supreme Court of Zambia declared the emergency declaration was not valid and lifted the state of emergency and released those arrested. [11] Later in the year, Chiluba amended the constitution stating that only people who had one parent born in Zambia or Northern Rhodesia could run for president. [12] This amendment was ostensibly targeted at blocking Kaunda from standing for president again as his parents had been born in Nyasaland (modern day Malawi). [13]
Due to a two-term limit in the constitution, Levy Mwanawasa was selected by Chiluba as the MMD's candidate to succeed him. [14] Mwanawasa won the 2001 Zambian general election but his victory was marred by accusations of electoral fraud by opposition parties. [15] Following legal disputes, the Supreme Court eventually ruled in 2005 that though the poll was "flawed", there were not enough errors to justify overturning the result. [16] Mwanawasa won re-election in 2006. [17] He died in 2008 and was replaced by Rupiah Banda. [18] In the 2011 Zambian general election Rupiah was defeated by the Patriotic Front's (PF) Michael Sata. [19]
Sata died in office in 2014. Accordingly, his Vice-President Guy Scott became president in an acting capacity. This made Scott the first white head of state of an African country since South Africa's F. W. de Klerk who left office in 1994 following the end of apartheid. [19] [20] However, because his parents were not born in Zambia, due to the constitution he was only able to act as president for 90 days and could not stand for election. [19] At the 2015 Zambian presidential election, the PF's Edgar Lungu won the presidency and retained it a year later in the 2016 general election under the amended constitution.
There are four most notable changes affecting the presidency in this amendment assented to by Edgar Lungu in January 2016, most of which are found in Part VII(7) of the constitution . Firstly, Article 100 Section 1 a) effectively removal the parental clause requiring presidential and vice presidential candidates to have at least one parent born in Zambia and the harmonisation of Presidential and Vice-presidential eligibility in Article 110 Section 2. Secondly, Article 101 Sections 1, 2 3 (a & b) and 8 signalled the shift from a First-Past the Post system to a Two-round system in which over 50% of valid votes cast are required for a president to win. In the event that this does not happen a second round will be held within 37 days between the two leading candidates to which the 50% + 1 rule will determine the winner on that second round. The third notable change is in the introduction of the running mate clause in Article 110 Sections 1, 2 and 3. This saw the President and Vice President directly elected on the same ticket as opposed to before where the President who once elected appoints and dismisses the vice president executively. Lastly, the fourth change was in Article 100 Section 1 j) which requires an aspiring presidential candidates to prove to have at least 100 registered voters in each of the ten provinces to successfully file for nominations with the Electoral Commission of Zambia. [21] In 2020, Lungu attempted to change the constitution to allow the President to change electoral laws and take control of Zambia's monetary policy. However the controversial Bill 10 failed after the Parliament of Zambia did not vote in favour with the required 2/3 majority. [22]
Symbols
§ Elected unopposed
† Died in office
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Elected | Term of office | Political party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
1 | ![]() | Kenneth Kaunda (1924–2021) | 1968 1973 [§] 1978 [§] 1983 [§] 1988 [§] | 24 October 1964 | 2 November 1991 | 27 years, 9 days | UNIP |
2 | ![]() | Frederick Chiluba (1943–2011) | 1991 1996 | 2 November 1991 | 2 January 2002 | 10 years, 61 days | MMD |
3 | ![]() | Levy Mwanawasa (1948–2008) | 2001 2006 | 2 January 2002 | 19 August 2008 [†] | 6 years, 230 days | MMD |
4 | ![]() | Rupiah Banda (1937–2022) | 2008 | 19 August 2008 | 23 September 2011 | 3 years, 35 days | MMD |
5 | ![]() | Michael Sata (1937–2014) | 2011 | 23 September 2011 | 28 October 2014 [†] | 3 years, 35 days | PF |
— | ![]() | Guy Scott (born 1944) Acting president | — | 28 October 2014 | 25 January 2015 | 89 days | PF |
6 | ![]() | Edgar Lungu (born 1956) | 2015 2016 | 25 January 2015 | 24 August 2021 | 6 years, 211 days | PF |
7 | ![]() | Hakainde Hichilema (born 1962) | 2021 | 24 August 2021 | Incumbent | 2 years, 350 days | UPND |
Rank | President | Time in office | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kenneth Kaunda | 27 years, 9 days | ||
2 | Frederick Chiluba | 10 years, 61 days | ||
3 | Levy Mwanawasa | 6 years, 230 days | ||
4 | Edgar Lungu | 6 years, 211 days | ||
5 | Rupiah Banda | 2 years, 325 days | 3 years, 86 days | |
— | Rupiah Banda | 126 days (Acting) | ||
6 | Michael Sata | 3 years, 35 days | ||
7 | Hakainde Hichilema | 2 years, 350 days | ||
– | Guy Scott | 89 days (Acting) |
The history of Zambia experienced many stages from colonisation to independence from Britain on 24 October 1964. Northern Rhodesia became a British sphere of influence in the present-day region of Zambia in 1888, and was officially proclaimed a British protectorate in 1924. After many years of suggested mergers, Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia, and Nyasaland were merged into the British Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland.
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.
Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as the candidate of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), defeating long-time President Kenneth Kaunda. He was re-elected in 1996. As he was unable to run for a third term in 2001, former Vice President Levy Mwanawasa instead ran as the MMD candidate and succeeded him. After leaving office, Chiluba was the subject of a long investigation and trial regarding alleged corruption; he was eventually acquitted in 2009.
Levy Patrick Mwanawasa was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corruption situation in Zambia during his term. Prior to Mwanawasa's election, he served as the fourth vice-president of Zambia from November 1991 to July 1994, whilst an elected Member of Parliament of Chifubu Constituency.
The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past leader, Frederick Chiluba was President of Zambia. Its election into power in 1991 ended the 27-year rule of President Kenneth Kaunda and his United National Independence Party (UNIP). It remained the dominant party within Zambian politics until the general elections of September 2011.
The prime minister of Zambia was the head of government of Zambia. From 1973 to 1975, Mainza Chona was the first person to hold the position following independence from the United Kingdom.
The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a liberal political party in Zambia, led by Hakainde Hichilema, the current president of the country. The party is an observer member of the Africa Liberal Network.
The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country between 1973 and 1990. On 4 April 2021, Bishop Trevor Mwamba was elected President of UNIP.
Elections in Zambia take place within the framework of a multi-party democracy and a presidential system. The President and National Assembly are simultaneously elected for five-year terms.
The Patriotic Front (PF) is a social democratic political party in Zambia. The party was formed by Michael Sata as a breakaway party of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) in 2001 after the President Frederick Chiluba nominated Levy Mwanawasa as its presidential candidate for 2001 elections. The party's main base of support are usually the youth and poor people in urban centres.
Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia, from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government. He went into opposition in 2001, forming the PF. As an opposition leader, Sata – popularly known as "The King Cobra" emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential election, but was defeated. Following Mwanawasa's death, Sata ran again and lost to President Rupiah Banda in 2008.
Rupiah Bwezani Banda was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, during which time he held several diplomatic posts.
The vice-president of Zambia is the second highest position in the executive branch of the Republic of Zambia. The vice-president was previously appointed by the president before the amendment of the Constitution in 2016. Under the amended Constitution, when the president dies, resigns or is removed from office, the vice-president automatically assumes the presidency, unlike when the Constitution demanded holding of presidential by-election within 90 days. This is so because now every presidential candidate shall pick a vice-presidential running mate and the two will share the vote meaning voting for a president is an automatic vote for the vice-president.
Presidential elections were held in Zambia on 30 October 2008 following the death of the incumbent President Levy Mwanawasa on 19 August 2008, as the elections had to be called within 90 days of his death. It was expected that there would be internal problems within the ruling Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) as Mwanawasa had not declared a successor prior to his death, but Acting President Rupiah Banda was selected as the MMD's candidate without apparent problems. Michael Sata stood as the candidate of the Patriotic Front (PF), while Hakainde Hichilema stood as the candidate of the United Party for National Development (UPND). Godfrey Miyanda stood as the candidate of the Heritage Party.
Emmanuel Kasonde was a Zambian economist and politician who served as the Finance permanent secretary or Minister of Finance under three successive Zambian presidential administrations, including Kenneth Kaunda, Frederick Chiluba and Levy Mwanawasa.
Guy Lindsay Scott is a Zambian politician, who served as acting President of Zambia from 2014 to 2015, and was the Vice President from 2011 to 2014.
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.
Daniel Munkombwe was a Zambian politician. He worked as a political organizer and administrator for the ZANC in Northern Rhodesia before and after independence. He was elected to Parliament in 1973 and served for 19 years. In 2001, he was appointed Minister for the Southern Province by Levy Mwanawasa and continued in that and other government posts until 2015, having been subsequently appointed by Rupiah Banda and Michael Sata.
Timeline of Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)
Embassy Park Presidential Burial Site, commonly referred to as Embassy Park or Embassy Memorial Park, is a national monument in Lusaka, Zambia. It serves as the official burial place for the country's presidents and is a site of immense historical and cultural significance. Designated as a National Monument in 2009, Embassy Park is also known to be a symbol of Zambia's political and social heritage. The site honours the contributions of the country's leaders towards its growth and development. Among those buried here are Kenneth Kaunda, the first president of Zambia, Frederick Chiluba, the second president, Levy Mwanawasa, the third president, Rupiah Banda, the fourth president, and Michael Sata, the fifth president. The park is accessible to the public and also provides a platform for visitors to pay their respects to Zambia's former presidents and to learn more about the country's cultural and political background.