Levy Mwanawasa Biography

Deathplace: France

Levy Mwanawasa was president of Zambia from 2002 until his death in 2008. He served as the vice president of Zambia from 1991 to 1994, but resigned in protest of the corruption within the Zambian government. Mwanawasa reluctantly ran for the office of president in 2002, winning by only 29% of the vote. During his term, he led an anticorruption campaign that exposed the former president, Frederick Chiluba, of stealing millions of dollars from Zambia. In addition, Mwanawasa created policies that attracted foreign investors and freed Zambia from much of its foreign debt. Mwanawasa was one of the few African leaders who criticized Robert Mugabe's corrupt regime in the neighboring country of Zimbabwe.