Zambia's champion of democracy, Levy Mwanawasa, dead at 59
LUSAKA (AFP) — President Levy Mwanawasa, a trenchant critic of Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe who won praise for his handling of Zambia's inflation-prone economy, died Tuesday in hospital in France aged 59.
Mwanawasa , who had been receiving treatment at the Percy Military Hospital near Paris, never recovered after suffering his second stroke in a little over two years at the end of June.
Announcing seven days of national mourning, Vice President Rupiah Banda told state television and radio that Mwanawasa died at 10:30 am (0830 GMT).
"In order to prepare for the funeral, I suspend business of the house until further notice. Members will be informed as to when the House will resume business," said Amussa Mwanamwambwa, the speaker of the 158-member National Assembly.
Mwanawasa, who was regarded as a champion of democracy in Africa, was in a serious car crash 15 years ago and had battled health problems for some years. He suffered his second stroke in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt on the eve of an African Union summit there at the end of June.
After initially receiving treatment in Egypt, he was flown to France where he underwent surgery on Monday after a rapid deterioration in his condition.
As Zambia's third president, Mwanawasa won praise for keeping the lid on once-rampant inflation and public spending.
The International Monetary Fund's deputy managing director Takatoshi Kato in June commended Mwanawasa "for implementing prudent macroeconomic policies."
Economic growth is running at over six percent. His government also steadily built up Zambia's international reserves to more than a billion dollars (670 million euros).
Mwanawasa won the respect of Western governments after being one of the first leaders to speak out against Mugabe, likening the state of his southern neigbour's economy to the Titanic in a speech last year.
In his role as chairman of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), Mwanawasa hosted an extraordinary summit in Lusaka in April in a bid to break the political deadlock between Mugabe's ruling party and the Zimbabwean opposition led by Morgan Tsvangirai.
A furious Mugabe boycotted the Lusaka summit with his government saying the meeting had been "clearly sponsored by the British government."
After Tsvangirai announced his withdrawal from a run-off election against Mugabe in June, Mwanawasa slammed the region's "scandalous" silence on Mugabe.
Tsvangirai on Tuesday paid tribute to his good friend and comrade.
"Sadly he has left us at this most trying time... His passing on is a sad day (for) the Zimbabwe people," the Movement for Democratic Change leader said in a statement.
Zambia's first post-independence leader Kenneth Kaunda said his country had been plunged into uncertainty.
"Zambia has lost a visionary, a leader who transformed the economy of this country," said Kaunda, who ruled from 1964 to 1991.
US President George W. Bush praised Mwanawasa as "a champion of democracy in his own country and throughout Africa," who "worked tirelessly to uphold the values of good governance, speaking out against human rights abuses and threats to democracy when many others were silent."
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon conveyed "his profound condolences to President Mwanawasa's family, and to the people and government of Zambia, at this difficult time.ยจ
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently leads the European Union, paid tribute to Mwanawasa's "political courage."
His death was "a huge loss for democracy, of which he was an ardent defender all his life," Sarkozy added in a statement.
African Union chief Jean Ping said Mwanawasa's death was "a great loss not only to the people of Zambia but also to the Southern African region and the entire African continent ."
A lawyer by training, Mwanawasa was one of the founder members of the Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD), which has been in power in Zambia since 1991 when it ousted Kaunda, who had served as president since independence in 1964.
Mwanawasa served as vice president until 1995 and then went into semi-retirement. He later returned to politics and was elected as president in December 2001.
Precluded from standing for a third term, his party was due to choose a new leader next year.
According to the country's constitution, elections will be held in 90 days.
