Former president of Zambia, Edgar Chagwa Lungu is dead.
The Zambian politician who served as the sixth president from 26 January 2015 to 24 August 2021, was born on 11th November 1956.
Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence under President Michael Sata.
Following Sata’s death in October 2014, Lungu was adopted as the candidate of the Patriotic Front in a Convention of the Patriotic Front in Kabwe, for the January 2015 presidential by-election which was to determine who would serve out the remainder of Sata’s term.
In the election, he narrowly defeated opposition candidate Hakainde Hichilema and took office on 25 January 2015.
Lungu was elected to a full presidential term in the August 2016 election, again narrowly defeating Hichilema.
Hichilema initially disputed the election result and filed a case at the Constitutional Court to nullify the result.
However, On September 5, the court dismissed the case to Lungu’s favour, and Lungu was sworn in for his first full term on 13th September 2016.
In 2021, Lungu was defeated by long-time opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema (his 2015 and 2016 opponent), in that year’s presidential election.
He died on the 5th of June 2025 in South Africa following chest complications.
