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Born in 1924 in the British colony of Northern Rhodesia, Kenneth Kaunda served as Zambia’s first president between 1964 and 1991. From his initial days in office, Kaunda and his government successfully expanded and integrated the education system at all levels. He attempted to diversify the economy, with some success on the industrial side, but made little progress in agriculture. When threatened by a new opposition party in 1971, he transformed Zambia into a one-party state, which it remained for the rest of his presidency. A precipitous drop in global copper prices and simultaneous jump in oil costs in the mid-1970s sabotaged the Zambian economy, forcing Kaunda to seek aid and loans from all quarters. His efforts attracted a significant amount of assistance for his nation, but nonetheless widespread poverty and inflation wracked Zambia by the early 1980s and were key factors in Kaunda’s 1991 ousting from power. Kaunda’s most striking moves as president were in diplomacy, where he took a firm stand against neighboring Rhodesia’s attempt to unilaterally declare independence from Great Britain. To allow Zambian participation in sanctions against Rhodesia, Kaunda established very positive relations with China, who in turn funded and built a railroad linking the Copperbelt to the port of Dar Es Salaam. Working closely with Western officials such as Henry Kissinger and Margaret Thatcher, Kaunda contributed considerably to the process leading to a settlement in late 1979, ending the war in Rhodesia, which then gained independence as the majority-ruled nation of Zimbabwe. Kaunda continued the struggle against racism in the southern African region through the 1980s, assisting significantly in the battle against apartheid in South Africa. After widespread protests erupted in 1990, he announced that a multiparty election would take place in October 1991. When he was soundly defeated, he accepted the results and left power, thus giving democracy a boost in southern Africa. During his last two decades, he focused on fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic. He died in Lusaka in June 2021 at the age of 97.

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