Mainza Chona

Mainza Mathias Chona (born June 21, 1930 in Nampeyo, Monze ; † December 11, 2001 in Johannesburg , South Africa ) was a Zambian politician , vice president of his country and two-time prime minister.

Life

The son of a chief, born as Sikaye Chingula Namukamba, studied law and later worked as a lawyer.

After Zambia gained independence in 1964, he was elected a member of the National Assembly and initially represented the constituency of Livingstone , and from 1968 that of Mankayo .

He was Minister of Justice in the first government of President Kenneth Kaunda in 1964. From 1968 to 1969 he was Minister of the Interior. He was then Minister for the Central Province, Minister without Portfolio and Minister for Provincial and Local Administration until 1970. From 1970 to 1973 he was ambassador to the USA . In 1972, he also headed a constitutional reform commission. This led to the fact that Zambia became a one-party state, with the "United National Indepence Party" UNIP as the state party.

From August 25, 1973 to May 27, 1975 and from July 20, 1977 to June 15, 1978 he was Prime Minister of Zambia. In between he held the offices of Minister for Legal Affairs and Attorney General.

In 1978 he became Secretary General of UNIP and at the same time Vice President. He held these offices until 1981. He then worked as a lawyer for a few years before he was ambassador to the People's Republic of China from 1984 to 1989. He was then ambassador to France until 1992.

Mainza Chona, who was one of the most prominent politicians in independent Zambia, was also a frequent delegate at international congresses and chairman of the UN Interaction Council of former heads of government. He was also the author of the novel "Kabuca Uleta Tunji" .

Web links

• Report of the commission on the establishment of the one-party state from May 1972 (PDF file; 545 kB)
• Obituary in "Times of Zambia"