Zambian President Michael Sata, who was nicknamed "King Cobra" for his fiery comebacks and larger-than-life personality, has died. He was 77.
Sata had traveled to
London for unspecified medical treatment last week, and died at a
hospital there Tuesday evening. Officials did not disclose a cause of
death.
"It's shocking, it's
devastating, because I knew he was sick. But I did not know it was going
to end this way," said George Zulu, permanent secretary at the Zambian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "(We) lost a man who devoted his whole life
to his country."
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Succession of office
Vice President Guy Scott has been appointed acting president, said Roland Msiska, the Cabinet secretary.
He will serve for 90 days
until elections are held. Scott, who is of Scottish descent, will be
the first white president in sub-Saharan Africa since apartheid.
He is ineligible to be elected president because his parents were not born in Zambia, Msiska said.
Absence of leadership
Sata took office in September 2011 after the incumbent president tearfully conceded in a televised speech, a rarity in a continent known for volatile elections and leaders fighting their defeat tooth-and-nail.
Analysts hailed his election as an example of an African nation
with a vibrant democracy. But not too long after he took office,
speculation swirled over his lack of visibility -- which especially
stood out for a man who loves the spotlight.
Aides said his absence
was a result of private international visits, and maintained those trips
had nothing to do with medical treatment.
The nation's bloggers have frequently criticized what they describe as "absence of leadership," leading Sata to make a surprise appearance in parliament last month and declare that he was not dead.
Political origins
Sata was born in the
Zambian town of Mpika in 1936, and worked as a police officer during the
colonial administration. He later trained as a pilot in Russia before
returning home and helping develop housing projects in the nation.
During Zambia's struggle
for independence from Britain, he jumped into politics, and later
founded the Patriotic Front -- then an opposition party. His campaign
events electrified crowds drawn to his extroverted nature and fight for
the average man.
Sata, who narrowly lost
to his predecessor Rupiah Banda in 2008, was a major critic of Chinese
investment in the nation's copper industry. He especially targeted
foreign companies that mistreated Zambian workers, making him popular
among the nation's miners who accused the Chinese of deplorable work
conditions.
While in office, Sata
warned foreign companies that while their investment is crucial to his
nation, they must abide by the labor laws.
The veteran politician
has served in other positions, including city council, member of
parliament and Cabinet minister for local government.
Before his election, the copper-rich nation in southern Africa had been ruled by the same party for two decades.
South African President
Frederik de Klerk was the continent's last white President. His party
lost to Nelson Mandela's African National Congress in South Africa's
first multiracial, fully democratic elections in 1994.
De Klerk took a deputy position in the new government for two years.
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