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Quick facts on Zambia

Zambia's Coat of Arms

·  Official Name: The Republic of Zambia

·  President: Levy Mwanawasa

·  Vice President: Enock Kavindele

·  Size: 752,618 sq km. or 290,586 sq m.

·  Population: 9,100,000 - 12 per sq km

·  Largest cities:

• Lusaka
• Kitwe
• Ndola

·  Monetary unit: Kwacha - Ngwee

·  Languages: English and 73 indigenous languages.

Boston University selects former Zambia president for new fellowship program

Wed Aug 28,11:19 AM ET

BOSTON - Boston University has chosen former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda as the first participant in a fellowship program that rewards former African heads of state who further democracy and leave office voluntarily.

Kaunda fathered Zambia's independence movement, although he stayed in power for 27 years and allowed elections only within his party. He finally allowed a multiparty election in 1990 and stepped aside when he lost.

Kaunda's yearlong fellowship in the school's Balfour African President-in-Residence program begins next month. Kaunda, 78, who continued to lead his party until 2000, will get the use of a house, an undisclosed stipend, personal security, and a campus office.

Kaunda was the first president of Zambia when it gained independence from Britain in 1964. He was president until 1991.

"He is a living embodiment of Africa's past struggle against colonization, and his commitment to democracy and free market reform makes him a symbol of Africa's present and future challenge to live with globalization," said Charles Stith, director of the fellowship program and former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania.

Others considered included Frederick Chiluba, Kaunda's successor who has become widely despised after introducing an autocratic regime after his election; and Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, who was hailed for instituting democratic change but also is being investigated for political crimes.

The school wants the fellowship to be an incentive for leaders such as Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president of 22 years, who this year began a sixth term after an election widely considered tainted.