Levy Mwanawasa - First Term As President

First Term As President

In February 2002, Mwanawasa's government filed defamation charges against Zambia Post editor Fred M'membe and opposition lawmaker Dipak Patel for an article in which M'membe quoted Patel as calling Mwanawasa a "cabbage", an apparent reference to his injuries.

However, in a move Mwanawasa described as an attempt to promote "national reconciliation", Mwanawasa appointed a number of opposition lawmakers to his cabinet in February 2003, including Patel of the FDD as Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry, and Sylvia Masebo of the ZRP as Local Government Minister. However, Godfrey Miyanda, himself also belonging to the opposition, opposed the move and threatened to file a lawsuit over it.

In January 2005, Mwanawasa apologized to the nation for failing to tackle Zambian poverty. About 75% of the country's population lived on less than $1 a day, the United Nations' indicator of absolute poverty.

He was elected as President of the MMD for a five-year term in 2005.