Rupiah Banda

Rupiah Banda
Banda in 2010
4th President of Zambia
In office
19 August 2008 – 23 September 2011
Vice PresidentGeorge Kunda
Preceded byLevy Mwanawasa
Succeeded byMichael Sata
10th Vice-President of Zambia
In office
9 October 2006 – 2 November 2008
PresidentLevy Mwanawasa
Preceded byLupando Mwape
Succeeded byGeorge Kunda
Personal details
Born
Rupiah Bwezani Banda

(1937-02-19)19 February 1937
Gwanda, Southern Rhodesia
Died11 March 2022(2022-03-11) (aged 85)
Lusaka, Zambia
Cause of deathColorectal cancer
Resting placeEmbassy Park
15°25′19″S 28°18′34″E / 15.421884°S 28.309314°E / -15.421884; 28.309314
Political partyMovement for Multi-Party Democracy
Spouses
  • Hope Mwansa Makulu
    (m. 1966; died 2000)
  • Thandiwe Banda
Children7
Alma materAddis Ababa University
Lund University
Wolfson College, Cambridge
NicknameRB

Rupiah Bwezani Banda (19 February 1937 – 11 March 2022) was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, during which time he held several diplomatic posts.

In October 2006, he was appointed the vice-president by Mwanawasa. After Mwanawasa suffered a stroke in June 2008 and died later that year, he became acting president. During the 2008 elections, he narrowly won against opposition leader Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front. He was later defeated in the 2011 election and succeeded by Sata.