Kenneth Kaunda

Kenneth Kaunda
Kaunda during an official visit to the United States in 1983.
1st President of Zambia
In office 24 October 1964 – 2 November 1991
Preceded by	Governor of Northern Rhodesia
Succeeded by	Frederick Chiluba
3rd Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement
In office 8 September 1970 – 5 September 1973
Preceded by	Gamal Abdel Nasser
Succeeded by	Houari Boumédienne
Personal details
Born	(1924-04-28) 28 April 1924 (age 92) Chinsali, Northern Rhodesia
Nationality	Zambian
Political party	UNIP
Spouse(s)	Betty Kaunda
Children	8
Profession	Teacher
Religion	Presbyterian

Kenneth David Kaunda (born 28 April 1924), also known as KK, served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.

Kaunda is the youngest of eight children born to an ordained Church of Scotland missionary and teacher. He followed his father's steps in becoming a teacher.

He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissatisfied with 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 United National Independence Party. He was the first President of the independent Zambia.

In 1972 all political parties except UNIP were banned. At the same time, Kaunda oversaw the acquisition of majority stakes in key foreign-owned companies. The oil crisis of 1973 and a slump in export revenues put Zambia in a state of economic crisis.

International pressure forced Kaunda to change the rules that had kept him in power. Multi-party elections took place in 1991, in which Frederick Chiluba, the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy, ousted Kaunda.

Kaunda was briefly stripped of Zambian citizenship in 1999 but the decision was overturned the following year.

Kaunda is the youngest of eight children. He was born at Lubwa Mission in Chinsali, Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia. His father was the Reverend David Kaunda, an ordained Church of Scotland missionary and teacher, who was born in Nyasaland (now Malawi) and had moved to Chinsali to work at Lubwa Mission. He attended Munali Training Centre in Lusaka (August 1941 – 1943).