Levy Mwanawasa

Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president 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 he 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.

Before his party's convention in 1990, Mwanawasa was widely tipped to become the president of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), but he declined the overture, citing his young age and inexperience.

He opted instead to stand as a member of parliament and won with an overwhelming majority of the popular vote.

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.

Mr. Mwanawasa was born in Mufulira, Northern Rhodesia, as the second of 10 children.

He held a law degree from the University of Zambia.

After Frederick Chiluba was elected as president, he appointed Mwanawasa as vice-president in November 1991.

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 left his firm in March 1992.

Mwanawasa served as vice-president until he resigned in July 1994.

In 1996 he unsuccessfully contested Chiluba for the presidency of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy.

After the loss, Mwanawasa retired from politics until the 2001 election.

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.

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.

Mwanawasa took office on 2 January 2002.

However, the results of the elections were disputed by main opposition parties, including Mazoka's United Party for National Development, which many observers claim had actually won the elections.

Both domestic and international election monitors cited serious irregularities with the campaign and election, including vote rigging, flawed voter registration, unequal and biased media coverage, and the MMD's improper use of state resources.

In January 2002, three opposition candidates petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn Mwanawasa's victory.

In February 2002, Mwanawasa's government filed defamation charges against Zambia Post editor Fred M'membe and opposition lawmaker Dipak Patel for an article in which M'membe quoted Patel as calling Mwanawasa a "cabbage", an apparent reference to his injuries.

However, in a move Mwanawasa described as an attempt to promote "national reconciliation", Mwanawasa appointed a number of opposition lawmakers to his cabinet in February 2003, including Patel of the FDD as Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry, and Sylvia Masebo of the ZRP as Local Government Minister.

However, Godfrey Miyanda, himself also belonging to the opposition, opposed the move and threatened to file a lawsuit over it.

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 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, the United Nations' indicator of absolute poverty.

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.

Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front was considered his main challenger.

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.

A few days later, he named a new cabinet and appointed Rupiah Banda as vice-president.

Foreign investors liked Mwanawasa, owing partly to his anti-corruption drive.