Vernon Johnson Mwaanga (born 25 June 1944) [1] [2] is a Zambian diplomat and politician. [3]
Born near Choma, Mwaanga studied political science and international relations in the United Kingdom. In October 1964 he became Zambia's first diplomat, as deputy high commissioner in London. He was ambassador to Moscow in 1965, before returning to Zambia for two years, handling negotiations with Rhodesia as the president's permanent secretary. From 1966 to January 1972 Mwangaa was ambassador to the United Nations. In 1972 he was appointed editor of the Times of Zambia . From 1973 to 1975 he was Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his tenure as foreign affairs minister for the Kenneth Kaunda regime, he played a key role in Zambian relations with the United States. Partly because of his diplomatic efforts, Kaunda was invited to the White House for important talks with Gerald Ford in April 1975. Furthermore, it was Mwaanga who first invited U.S. secretary of state Henry Kissinger to come to Zambia, which Kissinger ended up doing several times in 1976 to deliver a landmark speech and participate in discussions regarding the Rhodesian conflict. [4]
In 1976 Mwaanga left politics for the private sector. In 1980 he became chairman of the new Zambian subsidiary of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. As chairman of the Zambia Industrial and Commercial Association (ZINCOM), a consortium of entrepreneurs, he published criticisms of the government. Arrested on charges involving the alleged smuggling of Mandrax in 1985, he resigned the chairmanship of BCCI-Zambia, although the charges were never proven and he was released without trial in April 1986. [3]
Mwaanga was a founding member of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy, and after the party's victory in the 1991 elections served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1994. [3] He was Minister of Information from 1999 to 2002. After the 2006 elections he was reinstated as Minister of Information until his resignation in April 2007 over video footage showing him supporting breach-of-contract claims being made by a Congolese governor against the Zambian government. [3]
Kenneth Kaunda, also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissatisfied with Harry Nkumbula's leadership of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress, he broke away and founded the Zambian African National Congress, later becoming the head of the socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP).
After independence in 1964 the foreign relations of Zambia were mostly focused on supporting anti-colonial and anti-apartheid movements in other countries in Southern Africa, namely the African National Congress, Zimbabwe African People’s Union, and South West Africa People's Organisation. During the Cold War Zambia was a member of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Charles Woodruff Yost was a career U.S. Ambassador who was assigned as his country's representative to the United Nations from 1969 to 1971.
Robert Daniel Murphy was an American diplomat. He served as the first United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs when the position was established during the Eisenhower administration.
Anatoly Fyodorovich Dobrynin was a Soviet statesman, diplomat, and politician. He was the Soviet ambassador to the United States for more than two decades, from 1962 to 1986.
The School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) is the international affairs and public policy school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university located in Morningside Heights, Manhattan, New York City. SIPA offers Master of International Affairs (MIA) and Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in a range of fields, as well as the Executive MPA and PhD program in Sustainable Development.
Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula was a Zambian nationalist leader involved in the movement for the independence of Northern Rhodesia, as Zambia was known until the end of British rule in 1964. He was born in the village of Maala in the Namwala district of Zambia's southern province. He was the youngest of three children and the only son.
Frank George Wisner II is an American businessman and former diplomat who served as United States Secretary of State following the resignation of the previous acting United States Secretary of State Arnold Kanter at noon on January 20, 1993 until the confirmation by the United States Senate and swearing in of Warren Christopher as United States Secretary of State later that day. He is the son of CIA official Frank Wisner (1909–1965). On January 31, 2011, he was sent to Egypt by President Barack Obama to negotiate a resolution to the popular protests against the regime that had swept the country. A White House spokesman said that Wisner had vast experience in the region as well as close relationships with many Egyptians in and out of government. The New York Times reported that he was a personal friend of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
Membership in the Council on Foreign Relations comes in two types: Individual and Corporate. Individual memberships are further subdivided into two types: Life Membership and Term Membership, the latter of which is for a single period of five years and is available to those between the ages of 30 and 36 at the time of their application. Only U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have applied for U.S. citizenship are eligible. A candidate for life membership must be nominated in writing by one Council member and seconded by a minimum of three others.
The diplomatic relationship between the United States of America and Zambia can be characterized as warm and cooperative. Relations are based on their shared experiences as British colonies, both before, after and during the struggle for independence. Several U.S. administrations cooperated closely with Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda, in hopes of facilitating solutions to the conflicts in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Angola, and Namibia. The United States works closely with the Zambian Government to defeat the HIV/AIDS pandemic that is ravaging Zambia, to promote economic growth and development, and to effect political reform needed to promote responsive and responsible government. The United States is also supporting the government's efforts to root out corruption. Zambia is a beneficiary of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The U.S. Government provides a variety of technical assistance and other support that is managed by the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Threshold Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Treasury, Department of Defense, and Peace Corps. The majority of U.S. assistance is provided through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), in support of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The United Nations Institute for Namibia (UNIN) was an educational body set up by the United Nations Council for Namibia from 1976 to 1990. Based in Zambia's capital of Lusaka, UNIN was the brainchild of United Nations Commissioner for Namibia Seán MacBride, the proposal creating UNIN was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1974. The forerunner to the current University of Namibia, UNIN sought to educate Namibians for roles in an independent Republic of Namibia.
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Deshamanya Vernon Loraine Benjamin Mendis was a prominent Sri Lankan diplomat, who served as the United Nations' Special Envoy to the Middle East. He is referred to as the Sri Lanka's Father of Diplomacy due to his role in formation of the country's diplomatic service and has served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Canada; Ambassador to France, Cuba and Secretary General of the Non Aligned Movement.
Russia–Zambia relations are the bilateral relations between Russia and Zambia.
Gwendoline Noreen Chomba Konie was a Zambian poet, diplomat and politician. She was the Zambian ambassador to Scandinavia, the United Nations and Germany. She formed her own party in 2000 and stood as a candidate to be the President of Zambia in 2001. When she died she was given a state funeral.
Arlene Render is an American former diplomat. An officer of the United States Foreign Service, she served as the United States Ambassador to the Gambia, Zambia, and Ivory Coast. She was also noted for her role amidst the initial onset of the Rwandan genocide.
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 for Choma constituency 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.
Yugoslavia–Zambia relations were historical foreign relations between now split-up Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Zambia. Relations developed and were focused around shared membership and participation in the Non-Aligned Movement activities. Diplomatic relations between Yugoslavia and Zambia were established on 24 October 1964. They reached their peak before and during the 1970 3rd conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries in Lusaka when Yugoslavia provided major logistical and diplomatic support to the relatively recently decolonized Zambia.