First Lady of Zambia

First Lady of Zambia is the title attributed to the wife of the president of Zambia. Zambia's current first lady is Esther Lungu, who has held the office since 25 January 2015.

First Lady of Zambia
Incumbent
Esther Lungu

since 25 January 2015
Inaugural holderBetty Kaunda
Formation24 October 1964

The first lady of Zambia plays the ceremonial role of the spouse of the head of state, but has often expanded their influence beyond that. For example, the wife of the country's founding president, Betty Kaunda, was viewed as the mother of the nation and known as "Mama Kaunda."[1] Maureen Mwanawasa used her platform as First Lady to be a strong advocate for safer sex for women, often handing out condoms at public events.[2]

List of first ladies

Pres.

No.

Image First Lady Term start Term end President

(Spouse, unless noted)

1 Betty Kaunda[3] 24 October 1964[3] 2 November 1991[3] Kenneth Kaunda
2 Vera Tembo 2 November 1991 2000

(divorced in 2001)[4]

Frederick Chiluba
No First Lady 2000 2 January 2002
3 Maureen Mwanawasa 2 January 2002 19 August 2008 Levy Mwanawasa
4 Thandiwe Banda[5] 29 June 2008 23 September 2011 Rupiah Banda
5 Christine Kaseba 23 September 2011 28 October 2014 Michael Sata
6 Charlotte Scott 28 October 2014 26 January 2015 Guy Scott
7 Esther Lungu 26 January 2015 Incumbent Edgar Lungu

See also

References

  1. James Butty, VOA staff writer (September 20, 2012). "Zambians Mourn Death of Former First Lady Betty Kaunda". VOA. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  2. Violet Mengo, writer for the Daily Mail in Zambia and member of the Gender and Media Southern African (GEMSA) Network. (November 5, 2005). "Zambian First Lady urges women to demand safe sex". AFROL News. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  3. Udoh, Nse (2012-09-19). "Founding First Lady Betty Kaunda Passes Away at 84". Zambia Reports. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  4. Simwanza, Obert (2011-06-18). "Zambia's ex-president Chiluba dies". Independent Online (South Africa). Retrieved 2012-09-19.
  5. Warunga, Joseph (2010-05-17). "Meeting the first ladies of Africa". BBC News. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
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