Lt. Gen. Christon Tembo (24 May 1944 – 6 March 2009) was a Zambian politician and army commander. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 1996 and the sixth

vice-president of Zambia The vice president of Zambia is the second highest position in the executive branch of the Zambia, Republic of Zambia. The vice president was previously appointed by the President of Zambia, president before the amendment of the Constitution o ...

from 1997 to 2001. He ran for

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in the December 2001 election and took third place, with about 13% of the vote. In 1989, he and others were charged with plotting to overthrow President

Kenneth Kaunda Kenneth Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first president of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from Northern Rhodesia, British ...

, which was judged as an act of treason worthy of the death penalty. He was defended in court successfully by attorney

Levy Mwanawasa Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (3 September 1948 – 19 August 2008) was the third president of Zambia. He served as president from January 2002 until his death in August 2008. Mwanawasa is credited with having initiated a campaign to rid the corrupti ...

, who was elected as President in 2002. He retired from military service in 1990 and joined the

Movement for Multiparty Democracy The Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) also known as New Hope MMD is a political party in Zambia. Originally formed to oust the previous government, MMD controlled an absolute majority in parliament between 1991 and 2001, when its past lead ...

as vice-president of the party under

Frederick Chiluba Frederick Jacob Titus Chiluba (30 April 1943 – 18 June 2011) was a Zambian politician who was the second president of Zambia from 1991 to 2002. Chiluba, a trade union leader, won the country's multi-party presidential election in 1991 as th ...

, who became President in 1991. He fell out with Chiluba over the latter's attempt to gain a third term in office in 2001 and then formed the Forum for Democracy and Development (FDD) as a breakaway party, which he led until his death. He died on March 6, 2009, in

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

."Christon Tembo is Dead"
, ''Zambia Daily Mail'', March 8, 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tembo, Christon Vice-presidents of Zambia 1944 births 2009 deaths Foreign ministers of Zambia Zambian military personnel Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians Forum for Democracy and Development politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia