Hakainde Hichilema

Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962) is a Zambian businessman and politician serving as President of the opposition United Party for National Development. He is a perennial presidential candidate having contested four times in 2006, 2008, 2011 and most recently 2015.

Early life and career

Hichilema was born in a village in Monze District in present day Zambia. He received a scholarship to study at the University of Zambia and graduated in 1986 with a BA in Economics and Business Administration. He thereafter pursued an MBA in Finance and Business Strategy at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

He served as the Chief Executive Officer of both Coopers and Lybrand Zambia (1994-1998) and Grant Thornton Zambia (1998-2006).

Political career

He is a member of the opposition United Party for National Development, a liberal political party. Following the death of Anderson Mazoka in 2006, he was elected as the party's new President. He also served as the leader of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), an alliance of three opposition political parties.