Rupiah Banda
| Rupiah Banda | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 4th President of Zambia | |
|
In office 29 June 2008 – 23 September 2011 Acting: 29 June 2008 – 2 November 2008 |
|
| Vice President | George Kunda |
| Preceded by | Levy Mwanawasa |
| Succeeded by | Michael Sata |
| Vice President of Zambia | |
|
In office 9 October 2006 – 2 November 2008 |
|
| President | Levy Mwanawasa |
| Preceded by | Lupando Mwape |
| Succeeded by | George Kunda |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Rupiah Bwezani Banda 13 February 1937 Gwanda, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) |
| Political party | Movement for Multi-Party Democracy |
| Spouse(s) | Hope Mwansa Makulu (Deceased) Thandiwe Banda (m. 200?-Present) |
| Children | 7 |
| Alma mater |
Addis Ababa University Lund University Wolfson College, Cambridge |
| Religion | Anglicanism |
Rupiah Bwezani Banda (born 13 February 1937) is a Zambian politician who was President of Zambia from 2008 to 2011.
During the Presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, Banda held important diplomatic posts and was active in politics as a member of the United National Independence Party (UNIP). Years later, he was appointed as Vice-President by President Levy Mwanawasa in October 2006, following the latter's re-election. He took over Mwanawasa's presidential responsibilities after Mwanawasa suffered a stroke in June 2008, and following Mwanawasa's death in August 2008, he became acting President. As the candidate of the governing Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), he narrowly won the October 2008 presidential election, according to official results.
Opposition leader Michael Sata defeated Banda in the September 2011 presidential election, and Sata accordingly succeeded Banda as President on 23 September 2011.
Banda was born in the town of Miko, Gwanda, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe); his parents had come from Northern Rhodesia to find employment prior to his birth, and he was sponsored by a local Dutch Reformed Church preacher (and later, the family of B. R. Naik) to continue his education into adulthood. He became involved in politics when he joined the youth wing of the UNIP in 1960.
He was the UNIP's representative in Northern Europe in the early 1960s, and in 1965 he was appointed as Zambia's Ambassador to Egypt (the United Arab Republic). While there, he became friends with UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi, and the decision to allow UNITA to open offices in Lusaka at that time has been attributed to Banda's influence. Banda became Ambassador to the United States on April 7, 1967. He served as Ambassador to the U.S. for about two years, then returned to Zambia to serve as Chief Executive of the Rural Development Corporation for about two years and subsequently as General Manager of the National Agriculture Marketing Board for a similar length of time. He was then appointed as Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and while in this position he also headed the U.N. Council for Namibia. After about a year at the U.N., he was appointed to the Zambian Cabinet as Minister of Foreign Affairs. During his brief stint as Foreign Minister (1975–1976), Banda was occupied by the task of attempting to broker a cease-fire in Angola.
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