37 Facts About Michael Sata

Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was a Zambian politician who served as the fifth president of Zambia from 2011 until his death in 2014.

Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy government.

Michael Sata went into opposition in 2001, forming the PF.

Michael Sata died in London on 28 October 2014, leaving Vice President Guy Scott as Acting President until a presidential by-election was held on 20 January 2015.

Michael Charles Chilufya Sata was born on 6 July 1937, and brought up in Mpika, Northern Province.

Michael Sata worked under the Zambian Police Service as a police officer, then later as railway man and trade unionist during colonial rule.

Michael Sata spent some time in London working on the railway as a cleaner.

Michael Sata began actively participating in the politics of Northern Rhodesia in 1963.

Michael Sata cleaned up the streets, patched roadways and built bridges in the city.

Michael Sata later married Christine Kaseba, who was First Lady of Zambia during his presidency.

Michael Sata reportedly had at least ten children between his two marriages.

Michael Sata had a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Atlantic International University, an unaccredited distance learning university in Honolulu, Hawaii, that has widely been described as a diploma mill.

In frustration, Michael Sata left the MMD and set up a new party, the Patriotic Front.

Michael Sata contested the September 2006 presidential election as a populist championing the causes of the poor in the face of Mwanawasa's economic reform policies.

At one campaign event in particular, Michael Sata was reported to have ripped apart a cabbage in front of his supporters.

Michael Sata has accused Mwanawasa of "selling out" Zambia to international interests, and at one event, he referred to Hong Kong as a country and Taiwan as a sovereign state.

Michael Sata served a number of ministerial positions during the Chiluba government.

When opposition supporters heard that Michael Sata had slipped from first to third place, riots erupted in Lusaka.

Michael Sata was arrested in early December 2006, accused of making a false declaration of his assets when applying to run for president in August, along with other charges.

Michael Sata was questioned by police and released on bail.

Michael Sata said the charges were politically motivated, and in court he pleaded not guilty to them.

On 15 March 2007, Michael Sata was deported from Malawi shortly after arrival.

Michael Sata said that he was only there to meet with the business community, and alleged that the Zambian government had effected the deportation by falsely claiming that Michael Sata was in Malawi to assist that country's former president, Bakili Muluzi.

Shikapwasha said that an investigation would follow, that Michael Sata had been interrogated, and that he could face arrest.

Michael Sata suffered a heart attack on 25 April 2008 and was evacuated to Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was said to be in stable condition on 26 April.

Michael Sata, who was removed from the scene by security, said that he was only there to mourn Mwanawasa and that he had hoped to escort the body while it was taken to provincial capitals across Zambia; he maintained that his reconciliation with Mwanawasa himself was sufficient to justify his presence.

Michael Sata was unanimously chosen as the PF's candidate for the presidential by-election at a meeting of its Central Committee on 30 August 2008.

Michael Sata said that he would not accept a victory for Banda because there was "no way MMD can win", and he alleged that the Electoral Commission and the police were working together to rig the election.

Michael Sata subsequently stated that he had not been defeated and accused Banda of fraud.

Michael Sata ran for President for a fourth time in the election held on 20 September 2011.

Michael Sata was said to have won because of the urban vote.

On 8 September 2008, Michael Sata claimed that he would protect Chinese investments if he was elected, abandoning the hostility towards Chinese investment that he had expressed during the 2006 presidential election campaign.

At his inauguration as President of Zambia, Michael Sata assured foreign investors that they were welcome in his country, Africa's biggest copper producer, but said they must improve conditions for their Zambian employees.

Concerns about Michael Sata's health grew during 2014 and some suggested that he was no longer really running the government due to his condition, although the government denied that.

Michael Sata stopped appearing in public, which seemed jarringly uncharacteristic for the notably extroverted and outspoken president.

Michael Sata missed a speech at the general debate of the sixty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly amid rumours he had fallen ill at a New York City hotel.

Michael Sata is the second President of Zambia to die in office, after Levy Mwanawasa's death only six years earlier in 2008.