Esther Lungu

Esther Lungu
First Lady of Zambia
Assumed office
January 25, 2015
President Edgar Lungu
Preceded by Charlotte Scott
Personal details
Political party Patriotic Front
Spouse(s) Edgar Lungu
Children Six

Esther Nyawa Lungu (born 2 Jun) is a Zambian public figure and politician who has held the position of the First Lady of Zambia since January 25, 2015.[1] She is the wife of Zambian President Edgar Lungu.

Esther Lungu was born to parents, Agnes and Island Phiri, who were originally from the country's Eastern Province. Lungu was raised Catholic, but she and her husband are now practicing Baptists.[2] She has been married to Edgar Lungu, with whom she has six children, for more than thirty years.[2]

In 2015, she traveled to the United States for a series of First Ladies' and women's summits and meetings at the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas, Texas, and the United Nations in New York City.[1] Lungu spoke as an panelist at the Invest in Women in Dallas, which was moderated by Cherie Blair.[1]

Lungu has campaigned against child marriage during her tenure as First Lady.[3] She is the Chairman and mentor of Esther Lungu Foundation formed on December 2015 to empower women and children of Zambia.

Early life

Esther Lungu was born on 2 June,[4] to Agnes and Island Phiri, who were originally from the country's Eastern Province. Lungu was raised Catholic, but she and her husband are now practicing Baptists. In her own words, "When we first met, Edgar had his UCZ hymn books while I had my catholic catechism books, until we eventually found common ground in the Baptist faith." She has been married to Edgar Lungu, with whom she has six children, for more than thirty years.[2]

State visits

Edgar Lungu became a junior minister in 2011, Minister of Home affairs on 9 July 2012 and Defence minister on 24 December 2013 from the United Party for National Development. Lungu was adopted as the candidate for the Patriotic Front during the January 2015 presidential by-election, following Sata's death. He narrowly defeated the opposition candidate and was sworn-in as the President of Zambia on 25 January 2015 and his wife Esther became the First Lady of Zambia.[5]

Being the First Lady, Esther was part of many state visits along with the President. During 2015, she attended a series of meeting in the United States of America and she was invited by the George W. Bush Institute to participate in first lady conference and discuss topics of women's empowerement, health and technology. She was invited by the health minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and by Princess Latifa Bint Abulazis Al Saud to discuss support for women and child welfare programmes in Zambia. As a part of her continual humanitarian work, she launched Esther Lungu Foundation in December 2015.[6]

Social activities

Esther Lungu Foundation, with the help of Muslim Social and Welfare Trust (MSWT) installed hand pumps with boreholes in many places in Chongwe District. The district was facing acute water shortage as the reserves in Chongwe River reduced.[7] Her foundation also started identifying vulnerable families for empowering women to eradicate poverty in the country. The foundation also started working along with the ministries of Community Development and General Education to enable children to attend school.[8] As a part of her efforts on improving children's health, she suggested using hand soaps as the practice can reduced one out of every three cases of diarrhea.[9] Esther has continuously voiced her opinion on improving the livelihood of older women in the country. She donated 30,000K to six women association in the country in Chilanga for the upliftment of women.[10] Esther congratulated her husband for choosing a woman as his running mate for President, the first of its kind in the history of Zambia. She considered that a sign of women empowerment in the country.[11] Some sections of the media have criticized her role in social work as a campaign for her husband in upcoming presidential elections, but the accusation has been strongly condemned by the Patriotic Front.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "First Lady, Esther Lungu, arrives in USA for High Level meetings". Lusaka Times. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Lungu is a kind man". Zambia Daily Mail. 9 August 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
  3. ↑ "Zambia: Overcoming Early Marriages". Times of Zambia (AllAfrica.com). 23 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. 1 2 "PF defends First lady Esther Lungu". Lusaka: Lusaka Voice. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Musambachime, Mwelwa C (2016). One Zambia, One Nation, One Country. Xlibris Corporation. p. 136. ISBN 9781514462287.
  6. ↑ Abbink, Jon; Elischer, Sebastian; Mehler, Andreas; Melber, Henning (eds.). Africa Yearbook Volume 12: Politics, Economy and Society South of the Sahara in 2015. BRILL. ISBN 9789004333239.
  7. ↑ "More boreholes coming – Esther Lungu". Chongwe: Zambi Daily Mail. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Esther Lungu foundation to identify vulnerable families". Lusaka: Zambi Daily Mail. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Wash your hands with soap". Chongwe: Zambi Daily Mail. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  10. ↑ "Vulnerable women touch First Lady's heart". Chilanga: Zambi Daily Mail. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Female choice cheers First Lady". Lusaka: Zambi Daily Mail. 14 February 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
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