Hakainde Hichilema
| Hakainde Hichilema | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the United Party for National Development | |
|
Assumed office 2006 | |
| Preceded by | Anderson Mazoka |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
4 June 1962 Monze, Northern Rhodesia |
| Nationality | Zambian |
| Political party | UPND |
| Spouse(s) | Mutinta |
| Children |
3
|
| Alma mater |
University of Zambia (BA) University of Birmingham (MBA) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Profession | Economist |
| Religion | Seventh-day Adventist |
| Website |
hh-zambia |
| Nickname(s) | HH |
Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962) is a Zambian businessman and politician serving as President of the opposition United Party for National Development.
He is a perennial presidential candidate having contested five times in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016.
Early life and career
Hichilema was born in a village in Monze District in present-day Zambia. He received a scholarship to study at the University of Zambia and graduated in 1986 with a BA in Economics and Business Administration. He thereafter pursued an MBA in Finance and Business Strategy at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.[1]
He served as the chief executive officer of both Coopers and Lybrand Zambia (1994–1998) and Grant Thornton Zambia (1998–2006).[2]
Political career
He is a member of the opposition United Party for National Development, a liberal political party. Following the death of Anderson Mazoka in 2006, he was elected as the party's new President. He also served as the leader of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), an alliance of three opposition political parties.
In the 2006 election, Hichilema was the candidate of the UDA and ran against incumbent president Levy Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy and Patriotic Front candidate Michael Sata. He received the endorsement of former President Kenneth Kaunda. The election was held on 28 September 2006 and Hichilema took third place with about 25% of the vote.
Hichilema ran as the UPND candidate in the 2008 election, which was called following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa.[3] He came 3rd with 19.7% of the vote. In June 2009, Hichilema's party, the UPND, formed a pact with Michael Sata's Patriotic Front (PF) to contest the 2011 election together. However, indecision on the pact candidate, deep mistrust and accusations of tribalism from both sides resulted in the collapse of the pact in March 2011.[4]
He was one of the two main candidates in the January 2015 presidential election, which he lost by a narrow margin of just 27,757 votes (1.66%) against the ruling party's candidate, Edgar Lungu. Hichilema denounced the election as a sham and urged his supporters to remain calm.[5][6] He again faced Lungu as the main opposition candidate in the August 2016 presidential election, and he was again narrowly defeated.[7]
Personal life
Hichilema is married to Mutinta and has three children.[2] He is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.[8] Hichilema is a millionaire and the second-largest cattle rancher in Zambia.[9]
In December 2014, he denied being a Freemason and labelled people accusing him as malicious.[10] He also sued Bishop Edward Chomba of the Orthodox Church for defamation after the former called him a Satanist and a Freemason.[11]
References
- ↑ "Biography: Hakainde Hichilema". www.hh-zambia.com. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- 1 2 "HH's curriculum vitae". Lusaka Times. 19 September 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ "Zambia to hold presidential by-election on Oct.30", Xinhua, 10 September 2008.
- ↑ "Opposition alliance in Zambia collapse as UPND pulls out", Newstime Africa, 11 March 2011.
- ↑ "Zambia opposition cries foul as Lungu wins presidential election". The Daily Telegraph. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ↑ Hichilema, Hakainde (24 January 2015). "Edgar Lungu steals election". hh-zambia.com. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ↑ "Zambia's President Edgar Lungu declared election winner". BBC News. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "HH: I am not a Masonist, I am Christian and a church elder at SDA". Lusaka Times. 24 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ Laing, Aislinn (19 January 2015). "Africa needs leaders to run countries like CEOs, Zambia's opposition leader says". The Daily Telegraph. Ndola. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ "HH: I am an Adventist, I am a Christian, I don't know what Freemasonry is". Lusaka Times. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
- ↑ "HH sues Bishop Chomba for calling him a Satanist and Freemason". Lusaka Times. 25 December 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
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