1. Edgar Chagwa Lungu was born on 11 November 1956 and is a Zambian politician who served as the sixth president of Zambia from 26 January 2015 to 24 August 2021.
26 Facts About Edgar Lungu
1. 2.
Under President Michael Sata, Lungu served as Minister of Justice and Minister of Defence.
3.
Edgar Lungu was elected to a full presidential term in the August 2016 election, again narrowly defeating Hichilema.
4.
Edgar Lungu was sworn in for his first full term on 13 September 2016.
5.
In 2021, Edgar Lungu was defeated by long-time opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema, in that year's presidential election.
6.
Edgar Lungu was born 11 November 1956 at Ndola Central Hospital.
7.
Edgar Lungu subsequently underwent military officer training at Miltez in Kabwe under Zambia National Service.
8.
In 2010, Edgar Lungu had his law practicing licence suspended by the Law Association of Zambia.
9.
Edgar Lungu stood as an independent parliamentary candidate in Chawama constituency at the 1996 general election, with Christon Tembo of the MMD winning the seat ahead of him.
10.
At the 2011 general election, Edgar Lungu stood as the Patriotic Front candidate for Chawama constituency and won the parliamentary seat.
11.
Edgar Lungu was promoted to Minister of Home Affairs on 9 July 2012.
12.
Edgar Lungu has held a string of central positions in his party, including Chair of the PF Central Committee on Discipline, and he became PF Secretary General and Minister of Justice on 28 August 2014 to replace Wynter Kabimba, who was fired.
13.
Vice-President Dr Guy Scott took over as Acting President, and Edgar Lungu was viewed as one of the main contenders to ultimately succeed Sata in a presidential by-election.
14.
Edgar Lungu replaced him with Davis Mwila, the Member of Parliament for Chipili.
15.
Edgar Lungu was sworn in as President of Zambia on 26 January 2015 at the National Heroes Stadium in the capital Lusaka.
16.
Edgar Lungu appointed Inonge Wina as Zambia's first female Vice-President.
17.
In March 2015 Edgar Lungu collapsed while holding a speech commemorating International Women's Day in Lusaka.
18.
In October 2015, Edgar Lungu ordered a national day of prayer in hopes of preventing further damage to the economy.
19.
Edgar Lungu ran for a full term in the August 2016 presidential election, which turned out to be a rematch of the 2015 presidential election between Edgar Lungu and UPND candidate Hakainde Hichilema.
20.
The court dismissed the case on 5 September 2016 and Edgar Lungu was inaugurated for a full five-year term of office on 13 September.
21.
Edgar Lungu stood as the Patriotic Front candidate at the August 2021 general election.
22.
Edgar Lungu lost the election to his closest rival, Hakainde Hichilema of the United Party for National Development, getting almost a million votes less than Hichilema.
23.
Edgar Lungu conceded defeat as Hichilema was declared the winner on 16 August 2021 by the Electoral Commission of Zambia.
24.
Edgar Lungu's lawyer said that police were conducting a search following a complaint against his wife over her suspicious ownership of the vehicles and a title deed.
25.
Edgar Lungu made an official announcement of him returning to active politics on 28 October 2023, returning to being the leader of the Patriotic Front.
26.
On 10 December 2024, the Constitutional Court barred Edgar Lungu from running again for president as he had already served a maximum of two terms.