Vera Tembo
{{Short description|First Lady of Zambia, politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Vera Tembo
| image =
| office = 2nd First Lady of Zambia
| term_label = In role
| term_start = November 2, 1991
| term_end = September 25, 2001
| predecessor = Betty Kaunda
| successor = Maureen Mwanawasa
| president = Frederick Chiluba
| office2 = Member of the National Assembly
| constituency2 = Kasenengwa
| term_start2 = 2006
| term_end2 = 2011
| predecessor2 =
| successor2 = Victoria Kalima
| occupation =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1953|7|25}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = Frederick Chiluba (?–2000; divorced)
| children = Nine
| party = MMD
| alma_mater =
}}
Vera Tembo (born July 25, 1953) is a Zambian politician and member of the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD). She served as the First Lady of Zambia from 1991 until her separation from her former husband, President Frederick Chiluba, in 2001.
In 2006, she made her political comeback by being elected to the National Assembly of Zambia from Kasenengwa constituency.
Biography
Tembo was married to Frederick Chiluba, with whom she had nine children, for thirty-three years, until he announced their separation in 2000.{{cite news|first=Obert|last=Simwanza|title=Zambia's ex-president Chiluba dies |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/zambias-ex-president-chiluba-dies-1084985 |work=Independent Online (South Africa) |date=2011-06-18 |access-date=2016-08-28}} Chiluba became President of Zambia in 1991, making Tembo the country's First Lady from 1991 until their divorce.{{cite news|title=Divorce for Zambia's first couple |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1562488.stm |work=BBC News |date=2001-09-25 |access-date=2016-08-28}} Tembo left the State House, the presidential residence, shortly after Chiluba's announcement and moved in with family in Ndola. Their divorce became final on September 25, 2001, when an annulment was granted by a local court in Ndola after thirty-three years of marriage.
Vera Tembo described the circumstances of her separation and divorce from Chiluba as "humiliating." She campaigned during the 2001 general election by urging Zambian women to vote in the election. She also signaled her intention to enter politics. Chiluba left office in December 2001 after failing to win support for a third presidential term, which was banned by the country's Constitution.{{cite news|title=Zambia ex first lady to get state aid |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1967452.stm |work=BBC News |date=2002-05-03 |access-date=2016-08-28}} Former President Frederick Chiluba married his girlfriend, Regina Mwanza, in 2002, a few months after his divorce from Tembo was finalized.
By early 2002, Zambian newspapers reported that Tembo was living in poverty after Chiluba had allegedly frozen her bank account. She filed a $2.5 billion U.S. dollar lawsuit against Chiluba as part of the divorce settlement.{{cite news|title=Zambia ex first lady to get state aid |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1967452.stm |work=BBC News |date=2002-05-03 |access-date=2016-08-27}} The Zambian government offered Tembo financial assistance in May 2002 after she listed her personal possessions in an auction.
In 2006, Tembo ran for the Kasenengwa constituency seat in the Zambia as a Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) candidate. She won the election and became the first woman to represent Kasenengwa, a largely rural seat in her home Eastern Province, in the National Assembly.{{cite news|title=From divorced First Lady to Zambian Minister |url=http://www.afrol.com/articles/22033 |work=afrol |date=2006-10-18 |access-date=2016-08-28}} In October 2006, shortly after the election, President Levy Mwanawasa appointed Tembo as Deputy Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources in his cabinet.{{cite news|title=Mwanawasa names predecessor's ex-wife as deputy minister |url=http://www.panapress.com/Mwanawasa-names-predecessor-s-ex-wife-as-deputy-minister--13-478748-18-lang2-index.html |work=PanaPress |date=2006-10-09 |access-date=2016-08-28}}{{cite news|title=Only five women ministers in Zambia's new cabinet |url=http://www.sardc.net/en/southern-african-news-features/only-five-women-ministers-in-zambias-new-cabinet/ |work=Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) |date=October 2006 |access-date=2016-08-28}}
Vera Tembo, who was re-appointed Deputy Minister by Mwanawasa's successor, President Rupiah Banda, held the ministry portfolio from 2006 until 2011, when she left the National Assembly. In 2010, Tembo oversaw the relocation of black rhinoceroses to North Luangwa National Park and other natural areas of Zambia, citing the program as a boost to both the country's environment and the tourism industry.{{cite news|title=Zambia: Govt Receives More Black Rhinos |url=http://www.africanconservation.org/wildlife-news/zambia-govt-receives-more-black-rhinos-2 |work=African Conservation Foundation |date=2010-05-28 |access-date=2016-08-28}}
In March 2015, Vera Tembo announced that she had become a Christian pastor and had founded a new church called the Healing International Ministry.{{cite news|title=Vera Chiluba becomes a Pastor and forms Healing International Ministry |url=https://www.lusakatimes.com/2015/03/03/vera-chiluba-becomes-pastor-forms-healing-international-ministry/ |work=Lusaka Times |date=2015-03-03 |access-date=2016-08-28}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{First Ladies of Zambia}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tembo, Vera}}
Category:First ladies of Zambia
Category:Members of the National Assembly of Zambia
Category:Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians
Category:People from Eastern Province, Zambia
Category:Women government ministers of Zambia
Category:21st-century Zambian women politicians