Emmanuel Kasonde (December 23, 1935 – December 12, 2008) was a

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

permanent secretary A permanent secretary is the most senior Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil servant of a department or Ministry (government department), ministry charged with running the department or ministry's day-to-day activities. Permanent secretaries are ...

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

under three successive Zambian presidential administrations, including

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Emmanuel Kasonde was born in Malole Mission particularly in the village called Bwebe and later the family moved and settled Mukosa village in Malole,

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

. He completed his primary school education at Malole Primary School from 1943 to 1950. He next enrolled at St Francis Secondary School. Kasonde continued his education, attending

Munali Munali Secondary School is a state-funded secondary school located on the Great East Road in Lusaka, Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia. Munali was the first secondary school for black students in Zambia's history. Some of its alumni are notable Zambian politi ...

, located 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 ...

, from 1953 to 1956. It is at Mukosa village where he later established one of the biggest farm companies, called Trent farms. This household farm name came to be the biggest name in the product of maize meal and soya beans. The farm is still there under a different management with less activities. He moved from Northern Rhodesia to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1958 to study

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

Career

Kasonde was appointed assistant labour commissioner of Northern Rhodesia upon his return from the United Kingdom.

, the first

president of Zambia The president of the Republic of Zambia is the head of state and head of government of Zambia and is the highest executive authority in the country. The president is elected by popular vote for a five-year term and is responsible for the admin ...

, appointed Kasonde as the finance permanent secretary (

) in 1967. He remained at the government post until 1971, when he left to rejoin

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1987 to continue his advanced educational studies. Kasonde formally entered politics in 1990, when he became Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) provincial

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

for Northern Province. He was appointed

finance minister A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfoli ...

by President Frederick Chiluba following the victory of Chiluba and the MMD in 1991. President

also appointed Kasonde as Zambia's

in 2002. Kasonde retired from active politics in 2003. He continued to work in various positions within the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

in Zambia following his retirement.

Death

Emmanuel Kasonde died on Friday, December 12, 2008, at Lusaka Trust Hospital in

at the age of 72. He was survived by his wife, Rose Kasonde, four children and eight grandchildren. Kasonde's funeral was held at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Child Jesus in Lusaka. His funeral mass was presided over by Lusaka Archbishop Telesphore Mpundu, former Lusaka Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe and nine other

Catholic priest The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in common English usage ''priest'' refe ...

s. the late former Finance Minister Emmanuel Kasonde was to rest at his Trent Farm at Malole (mukosa village) in Mungwi district. In his will, Kasonde said that he did not want anyone to speak about him at his funeral. However, Archbishop Mazombwe, who was a close friend and adviser to Kasonde for thirty years, still spoke of him in his

homily A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ...

. Mazombwe said of Kasonde that, "He was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

inside out. He was dedicated to church affairs, despite the position he held in

society A society () is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. ...

, he remained simple and approachable.." He went on to call Kasonde "...a great source of

inspiration Inspiration, inspire, INSPIRE, or inspired commonly refers to: * Artistic inspiration, sudden creativity in artistic production * Biblical inspiration, a Christian doctrine on the origin of the Bible * Inhalation, breathing in Inspiration and rel ...

for us. His

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

is a soul of an upright man." High-profile Zambian

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

at the funeral mass included former president

and the then

defence minister A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

George Mpombo, who represented President

Rupiah Banda Rupiah Bwezani Banda (19 February 1937 – 11 March 2022) was a Zambian politician who served as the fourth president of Zambia from 2008 to 2011, taking over from Levy Mwanawasa. Banda was an active participant in politics from early in the pres ...

. Other attendees included former vice president

Enoch Kavindele Enoch P. Kavindele (born 7 July 1950) is a Zambian businessman and politician who served as the seventh vice-president of Zambia from 2001 until 2003. Biography Kavindele began his business career in the 1970s when he established Woodgate Hold ...

, Home Affairs Minister

Kalombo Mwansa Kalombo Mwansa (1955 – March 15, 2020) was a Zambian politician who served as Defence Minister. Political career Kalombo Mwansa became Zambia's Defense Minister on July 9, 2009. He was previously the foreign minister In many countries, ...

and the Speaker of the National Assembly

Mutale Nalumango W.K. Mutale Nalumango (born 1 January 1955) is a Zambian educator and politician. She currently serves as the 14th Vice President of Zambia, having been elected to the position in August 2021. Nalumango is only the second woman to hold this pos ...

. The heads of all of Zambia's majority political parties were also in attendance. They included

United Party for National Development The United Party for National Development (UPND) is a political party in Zambia, founded in December 1998 by Anderson Mazoka, a former executive of the Anglo American Corporation. The party emerged as a significant opposition force following a ...

(UPND) president

Hakainde Hichilema Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962), often known by his initials HH, is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in ...

, Patriotic Front (PF) president

Michael Sata Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who served as the fifth president of Zambia from 2011 until Death and state funeral of Michael Sata, his death in 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patrio ...

, the then All Peoples Congress Party (APC) president Ken Ngondo. The

National Democratic Focus The National Democratic Focus (NDF) was a political alliance in Zambia. History The alliance was formed in 2006 as the National Democratic Front, and was initially planned to consist of the Party for Unity, Democracy and Development (PUDD), the ...

(NDF) was represented by both president Ben Mwila, as well as the NDF former vice president, Nevers Mumba. Members of the Zambian government, deputy ministers, members of the diplomatic corp, and the

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

community were also present at Kasonde's funeral. The Government of Zambia declared the day of Emmanuel Kasonde funeral - December 16, 2008 - as a national

day of mourning A national day of mourning is a day, or one of several days, marked by mourning and memorial activities observed among the majority of a country's populace. They are designated by the national government. Such days include those marking the deat ...

References

External links

The Zambian Chronicle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasonde, Emmanuel 1935 births 2008 deaths Zambian economists Ministers of finance of Zambia Zambian Roman Catholics Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zambia Alumni of Munali Secondary School People from Mungwi District