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Fwanyanga Mulikita
Profile by Maidstone Mulenga Dr Fwanyanga Matale Mulikita, Zambia's first permanent representative to the United Nations, was also of the few Zambians to hold the position of Speaker of the National Assembly of Zambia.
Dr. Mulikita was born in 1928 in Mongu and was educated at Rhodes in Grahamstown in South African where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree. He later went to the United States where he earned his master’s degree at Stanford University. He returned to his alma mater at Rhodes to get a doctorate in law.
Before going into public service, Dr. Mulikita served as headmaster of Chalimbana Secondary School and once hosted a meeting between the late Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Kenneth Kaunda aimed at forging a common African stand towards the attainment of self-rule in Northern Rhodesia.
From 1964 to1966, he served as Zambia’s first ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. He returned home to serve as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education before he was appointed minister of Luapula Province in 1968. From1969 to 1973, he served as a minister in Labour and Social Services, Transport, Power and Works and Education portfolios.
Dr Mulikita was also chairman of the UNIP National Council, the supreme policy making body of the United National Independence Party during the single party era.
President Kaunda elevated him to Member of the UNIP Central Committee in 1976 and made him chairman of the University of Zambia (UNZA) Council.
In 1988, he was elected as Speaker of the Zambian National Assembly, where he steered Parliament during the transition from one party to plural politics in Zambia in 1991.
After leaving Parliament, he was named chancellor of Copperbelt University in 1992, a position he served until 1997.
An accomplished author, Dr. Mulikita’s books include A point of No Return: Collection of Short Stories (Longmans Publishers) in 1968, and Shaka Zulu (Longmans Publishers) in 1971.
Dr. Mulikita died on September 2, 1998 at the University Teaching Hospital at the age of 70. He was given a state funeral. Main References Maidstone Mulenga, Famous Zambians, www.geocities.com/maiddie/zprez.html Microsoft® Encarta® Reference Library 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Wikipedia
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