Zambia’s President Levy Mwanawasa, 59, has died in a French hospital after struggling with a stroke he suffered in June this year.

The announcement about his death was made by Vice-president Rupiah Banda, according to BBC news.

"Fellow countrymen, with deep sorrow and grief, I would like to inform the people of Zambia that our president Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa died this morning at 1030 hours (0230 GMT),” Reuters news agency quotes Mr. Banda as saying.

President Mwanawasa has been in a coma since he suffered a stroke while attending an African Union Summit in Egypt from where he was flown to France for medication.

Ever since the stroke, Mwanawasa has been in hospital.
His health problems have always posed a threat to his life and duties right from the time he sustained a minor stroke in April 2006, four months to general elections.

President Mwanawasa is remembered for coming out and being vocal on the violence in Zimbabwe, being one of the few African presidents to be critical on the violence there, while others treated the issue indifferently.

Mwanawasa has been the chairman of the South African Development Community (SADC), a role that perhaps made him critical on the controversial Zimbabwe elections.

At the time, he said he sympathized with Morgan Tsvangirai, after the latter withdrew his candidature from the Zimbabwe elections for the safety of his supporters.

Mr. Mwanawasa won a second term in 2006, after winning support from the western donors as well as majority votes at home, accruing from his outstanding economic record.

During the time he was Vice-president in the 1990’s, he got involved in a near-fatal road accident which left him with a garbled speech.

He had been a practicing lawyer, with many high profile cases in his pedigree.

He was married and he is survived with a wife and six children.

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