Kaunda was the youngest of eight children born to an ordained Church of Scotland missionary and teacher, an immigrant from Malawi. He was
at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule . Dissatisfied with Harry Nkumbula ‘s leadership of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress, he broke
away and founded the Zambian African National Congress, later becoming the head of the United
National Independence Party (UNIP). He was the first President of the independent Zambia. In 1973 following tribal and inter-party violence, all political parties except UNIP were banned through an amendment of the constitution after
the signing of the Choma Declaration.
At the same time, Kaunda oversaw the acquisition of
majority stakes in key foreign-owned companies. The oil crisis of 1973 and a slump in export revenues put Zambia in a state of economic
crisis. International pressure forced Kaunda to change the rules that had kept him in power. Multi-party elections took place in 1991, in
which Frederick Chiluba , the leader of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy , ousted Kaunda. Kaunda was briefly stripped of Zambian
citizenship in 1999, but the decision was overturned the following year. At 97, he is the oldest living former Zambian president. On 14
June 2021 Kaunda was admitted to hospital for treatment of an unspecified disease.
