EDGAR LUNGU – 6th President of The Republic of Zambia

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PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Edgar Lungu has been elected sixth president of Zambia
PATRIOTIC Front (PF) leader Edgar Lungu has been elected sixth president of Zambia

Edgar Lungu has been duly elected the 6th President of The Republic of Zambia

(Reuters) – Zambia’s ruling party candidate, Edgar Lungu, won the presidential election on Saturday with 48.3 percent of the vote, the Electoral Commission of Zambia said.

Lungu defeated his closest rival, Hakainde Hichilema, in the contest to succeed Michael Sata, who died in office in October aged 77.

Edgar Chagwa Lungu is a Zambian politician and lawyer. He holds two portfolios in the current government as Justice and Defence Minister and is recognized as president of the rulingPatriotic Front by the dominant faction of the party, which also has adopted him as PF candidate for the Zambian presidential by-election in January 2015.

Lungu was born 11 November 1956 in Chadiza in Eastern Province. After graduating with a LL.B. in 1981 from University of Zambia, he joined the law firm Andre Masiye and Company in Lusaka. He subsequently underwent military officer training at Miltez in Kabwe. He then returned to practicing law and joined the United Party for National Development under the leadership of Anderson Mazoka, but later switched to the Patriotic Front (PF) led by party founder Michael Sata.

After PF won the 2011 election, Lungu became Junior Minister in the Vice President’s office. He was subsequently promoted to Minister of Home Affairs and later obtained the influentialMinistry of Justice. He became Minister of Defence in 2013 after the sacking of Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba and functioned as Acting President during President Sata’s long term illness in 2013-14. He has also held a string of central positions in his party, including Chair for the PF Central Committee on Discipline, and became Secretary General (SG) in 2013 after Wynter Kabimba was fired.

He currently still serves as the Zambian Minister of Defence and Justice Minister.[2] He is recognized as president of the PF political party in power[3] by one of the two wings in the PF.

On 3 November 2014, President Scott dismissed Lungu as Secretary-General of the PF.[4] He replaced him with Davies Mwila, the Member of Parliament for Chipili.[4] However, the next day, on 4 November 2014, Scott announced Lungu was to remain as Secretary-General.[5] Lungu was later replaced with Bridget Atanga, but reinstated the very next day. Mr. Lungu was on November 30, 2014 elected President of Patriotic Front in National convention of the party held in Kabwe, Zambia.

On January 20, 2015 Mr. Lungu contested Presidential elections of the Republic of Zambia and by the time of updating this profile, he was leading his closest rival Mr. Hakainde Hichilema of United Party for National Development. Final results are expected on January 23, 2015. If declared a winner by Friday, he will be the 6th President of the Republic of Zambia.

Lungu is married to Esther and has six children

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Lungu

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