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Hakainde Hichilema is a Zambian businessman and politician who has headed the opposition political party United Party for National Development since 2006.
Hakainde Hichilema has run five times for president and lost all five times: in 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, and 2016.
In today’s upcoming general elections, 12th August 2021, he is running again for the 6th time.
You can read about his profile below
Date of Birth
He was born on 4th June 1962
Age
Hakainde Hichilema is currently 59 years old
Education
Hakainde Hichilema studied at the University of Zambia and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1986.
Later, he obtained a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Business Strategy from the University of Birmingham in the UK.
Career
Coopers and Lybrand Zambia (1994-1998), Grant Thornton Zambia (1998-2006) were companies for which he served as chief executive.
Political career
Hakainde Hichilema is an opposition member of the liberal United Party for National Development.
He became the party’s new president after Anderson Mazoka passed away in 2006.
His other leadership roles include that of United Democratic Alliance (UDA), an alliance of three opposition political parties.
During the 2006 elections, Hichilema ran as the UDA’s candidate against incumbent president Levy Mwanawasa of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy and Patriotic Front candidate Michael Sata of the Patriotic Front.
Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia, endorsed him.
Hichilema came in third place with about 25% of the votes during the election on 28 September 2006.
In the 2008 elections, which were called following the death of President Levy Mwanawasa, Hichilomema ran as the UPND candidate – his vote total was 19.7%, which placed him third.
As part of a pact to contest the 2011 elections together, Hichilema’s UPND joined forces with Michael Sata’s Patriotic Front (PF).
The pact collapsed in March 2011 as a result of indecision over the pact candidate, deep mistrust, and accusations of tribalism from both sides.
In the January 2015 presidential election, he was one of the two main candidates; he lost by just 27,757 votes (1.66%) to Edgar Lungu, the candidate of the ruling party.
Hakainde Hichilema branded the election a sham and encouraged his supporters to remain calm.
In the August 2016 presidential elections, he lost narrowly to Lungu as the main opposition candidate.
It was reported in April 2017 that he had been arrested and charged with treason and attempting to overthrow the government.
Despite being in prison for 4 months, he was granted a Nolle prosequi.
