Zambian president dies

from CBC News

Zambia's president died in a Paris hospital Thursday after suffering a stroke earlier in the week, local media reported.

Levy Mwanawasa, 59, fell ill as an African Union summit got underway in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheik. The summit came under international scrutiny as Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe made his first appearance following an election that many have called a sham.

A Zambian government statement Monday said Mwanawasa suffered a stroke. Reuters, citing South Africa's Talk Radio 702, reported early Thursday that Mwanawasa had died.

Mwanawasa had been receiving medical care at Val-de-Grace military hospital in Paris, a frequent destination for French and foreign dignitaries, a French official said.

He was Zambia's third president since independence from Britain in 1964. Mwanawasa, a lawyer, won praise from Zambians, and many Western investors and donors for his free-market policies and a high-profile anti-graft campaign. His corruption efforts targeted his predecessor and former mentor, Frederick Chiluba.