George Kunda (26 February 1956 – 16 April 2012) was a

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...

n lawyer and politician who was the 11th vice-president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011. He served under 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 participan ...

until their party's loss to

Michael Sata Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who was the fifth president of Zambia, from 23 September 2011 until his death on 28 October 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a maj ...

's party.

Early life and career

The son of a miner, Kunda studied at Serenje Boys Technical School and obtained a law degree from the University of Zambia and began practicing on April 28, 1982. He started his career at the Luanshya Municipal Council as a solicitor before creating his own law firm in 1990.

Politics

While Kunda did not compete in the 2001 parliamentary election, he gained one of the eight appointed seats in Parliament. President

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupt ...

appointed him to the positions of Minister of Justice and Attorney General in 2002. However, Mwanawasa removed Kunda from the position of Attorney General and appointed Mumba Malila in 2006 while leaving Kunda with his position of Justice Minister.

Vice president

From 2008 to September 2011, Kunda served as vice president during

's presidency. At a mining conference in June 2011, Kunda stated that Zambia was interested in expanding their mining resources, such as iron ore and uranium.

Homosexuality

In May 2010, Kunda claimed that homosexuality could lead to "sadism and Satanism". Kunda brought up the topic of homosexuality in the months leading to the 2011 elections as a "

wedge issue A wedge issue is a political or social issue, often of a controversial or divisive nature, which splits apart a demographic or population group. Wedge issues can be advertised or publicly aired in an attempt to strengthen the unity of a populatio ...

" by addressing the Parliament of Zambia on 18 March 2011 and highlighted that homosexuality in Zambia is illegal and punishable in the Zambian law.

Death

On 16 April 2012, Kunda died of a kidney failure. He was buried at Leopards Hill Memorial Park in Lusaka on 20 April 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunda, George 1956 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Zambian lawyers Vice-presidents of Zambia Justice Ministers of Zambia Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians People from Luanshya Attorneys-General of Zambia University of Zambia alumni 21st-century Zambian lawyers