Zambian President Mwanawasa dies in France

By Shapi Shacinda

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa, a favorite of Western donors and strong critic of Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe, died in a French hospital on Tuesday nearly two months after suffering a stroke. He was 59.

Mwanawasa won praise abroad for tackling corruption and turning the copper-rich southern African country into one of the continent's biggest success stories, but opponents said he had failed to help most Zambians to escape poverty.

"Fellow countrymen, with deep sorrow and grief, I would like to inform the people of Zambia that our president Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa died this morning at 1030 hours (4:30 a.m. EDT)," Vice President Rupiah Banda said on state television.

He declared a seven-day mourning period.

Banda is expected to take over as acting president, under Zambia's constitution, before early elections in the country of about 11.5 million.

But Mwanawasa's death has created political uncertainty in Africa's biggest copper producer.

"We have enjoyed peace even during his sickness. But now we are not certain whether the next president will be like him," said Tangerine Tembo, 28, a hairdresser at a busy market.

Zambia's kwacha currency fell as much as 3 percent on news of Mwanawasa's death. He suffered a stroke, his second, during an African summit in Egypt on June 29 and was taken from there to a French hospital.

Mwanawasa built his reputation as a lawyer for the former opposition, cultivating an earthy image. He became vice-president in 1991 and stunned observers after winning the presidency in 2001 by turning on former boss Frederick Chiluba.

U.S. President George W. Bush, in a statement issued in Crawford, Texas, said: "President Mwanawasa was a champion of democracy in his own country and throughout Africa."

The International Monetary Fund and other Western donors extended billions of dollars in debt relief after he curbed government spending and launched the biggest anti-corruption crackdown since Zambia won independence from Britain in 1964.

Foes said he used the campaign as a weapon against them.

REGIONAL VOICE

Mwanawasa, from a newer generation of African leaders, had been more critical of Mugabe than presidents of many of Zimbabwe's other neighbors who had stronger connections to the era of liberation struggles.

"He showed that he had the courage to speak his own mind about issues that needed to be confronted, like Zimbabwe," said Francis Kornegay of the Centre for Policy Studies.