Elijah Haatuakali Kaiba Mudenda (6 June 1927
''The Times of Zambia'' (

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), 7 November 2008. – 2 November 2008) was a Zambian politician. He served as the 2nd

Prime Minister of Zambia The prime minister of Zambia was the head of government of Zambia. From 1973 to 1975, Mainza Chona was the first person to hold the position following independence from the United Kingdom (Kenneth Kaunda was the only prime minister of Northe ...

from 27 May 1975 to 20 July 1977.

Early life and education

Mudenda was born in

Macha Macha () was a sovereignty goddess of ancient Ireland associated with the province of Ulster, particularly the sites of Navan Fort (''Eamhain Mhacha'') and Armagh (''Ard Mhacha''), which are named after her.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A His ...

, in the Choma District of Southern Province. He attended primary school at Macha Central and did his upper standards at Sikalongo Boys School. He then attended

Munali Secondary School Munali Secondary School is a state-funded secondary school located on the Great East Road in Lusaka, Zambia. Munali was the first secondary school for black students in Zambia's history. Some of its alumni are notable Zambian politicians and public ...

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of ni ...

and the

University of Fort Hare The University of Fort Hare is a public university in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was a key institution of higher education for Africans from 1916 to 1959 when it offered a Western-style academic education to students from across sub ...

in South Africa where he earned a master's degree. He later obtained a BSc in agriculture at

Peterhouse Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite o ...

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, UK. On returning home, Mudenda worked as a research officer, specializing in plant breeding.

Political and government positions

He entered politics in 1962, and at independence, he was appointed

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

. Three years later, he became

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He was moved to

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

in 1969, where he also held a number of posts on international committees. On 27 May 1975, President

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissat ...

named Mudenda as the Prime Minister after

Mainza Chona Mainza Mathias Chona (21 January 1930 – 11 December 2001) was a Zambian politician and founder of UNIP who served as the third vice-president of Zambia from 1970 to 1973 and Prime Minister on two occasions: from 25 August 1973 to 27 May 1 ...

resigned. Mudenda was given the overall responsibility of running all of the ministries concerned with the economy in an attempt to stimulate non-mining sectors. He was removed as Prime Minister on 20 July 1977, and replaced by the same man who held the position two years earlier. He was a

UNIP The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a political party in Zambia. It governed the country from 1964 to 1991 under the socialist President (government title), presidency of Kenneth Kaunda, and was the sole legal party in the country ...

member of the central committee in charge of the party control commission when he retired from politics, after the party lost the 1991 general elections to the

Movement for Multi-Party Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

(MMD) Party. Mudenda served as patron of the

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-Zambia Friendship Association and was conferred the Friendship Medal by Cuba through the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples in 2005.

Death

Mudenda died at Maina Soko Military Hospital in

Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...

. Following his death, Mudenda was given a state funeral and was buried on 6 November 2008, at his Sun Valley farm, located in the New Kasama area of Lusaka. At the funeral, Kaunda, President

Rupiah Banda 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, who died as the sitting president. Banda was an active participant ...

, and former President

Frederick Chiluba Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (30 April 1943 – 18 June 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as th ...

were present. Kaunda said on the occasion that Mudenda "had a vision for the development of this country. A vision for the development of Africa. Indeed, a vision for the advancement and prosperity of our beloved continent", and he stated that Mudenda would have a lasting legacy. Also speaking on the occasion, Education Minister

Geoffrey Lungwangwa Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

described Mudenda as a "humble but distinguished servant of the people" and said that Zambia was "grateful for his life and service to Zambia, Africa and the world.".

Prominent political positions

* 1964 – Minister of Agriculture * 1967 –

Guide to Government Ministers: The British Empire and Successor States 1900-1972
/ref> * 1968 –

* 1975 –

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

References

* Mudenda, Elijah. Zambia: A Generation of Struggle. Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe: SAPES Books, 1999. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mudenda, Elijah 1927 births 2008 deaths People from Choma District University of Fort Hare alumni Prime Ministers of Zambia Members of the Legislative Council of Northern Rhodesia Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Agriculture ministers of Zambia Finance Ministers of Zambia Foreign Ministers of Zambia Alumni of Munali Secondary School Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge