About Michael Sata
Michael Charles Chilufya Sata (6 July 1937 – 28 October 2014) was a Zambian politician who served as the fifth president of Zambia from 2011 until his death in 2014. A social democrat, he led the Patriotic Front (PF), a major political party in Zambia. Under President Frederick Chiluba, Sata was a minister during the 1990s as part of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) government. He went into opposition in 2001, forming the PF. As an opposition leader, Sata – popularly known as "The King Cobra", emerged as the leading opposition presidential contender and rival to President Levy Mwanawasa in the 2006 presidential election, but was defeated. Following Mwanawasa's death, Sata ran again in 2008, losing to Rupiah Banda. After ten years in opposition, Sata defeated Banda, the incumbent, to win the September 2011 presidential election with a plurality of the vote. He died in London on 28 October 2014, leaving Vice President Guy Scott as Acting President until a presidential by-election was held on 20 January 2015. Initial results from the election gave Sata the lead, but further results put Mwanawasa in first place and pushed Sata into third place. He contested the 2001 election but did not do well—his party only won one seat in parliament (at Lupososhi). After Frederick Chiluba of the MMD was elected the president of Zambia ahead of Kaunda in 1991, Sata became one of Zambia's most instantly recognisable faces.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.