SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, June 29 (Reuters) - Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa was rushed to hospital in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Sunday after a health emergency, Egyptian health sources and state media said.
Mwanawasa, 59, in Egypt to attend the African Union summit, had experienced sharp chest pains but was in a stable condition, said Saeed Eissa, ambulance director for the southern Sinai peninsula.
Another Egyptian health source said Mwanawasa appeared to have suffered a heart problem, but gave no further details. Egypt's state news agency MENA said that Mwanawasa had a "sudden health problem".
The African summit, due to begin on Monday, is expected to focus largely on the post-election crisis in Zimbabwe. President Robert Mugabe was sworn in on Sunday for a new term after a one-candidate election widely condemned internationally.
Mwanawasa, the current chairman of the Southern African Development Community, expressed understanding for Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai after he pulled out of Friday's presidential election.
"Elections held in such an environment will not only be undemocratic but will also bring embarrassment to the SADC region and the entire continent of Africa," Mwanawasa said at the time.
MENA reported that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit was monitoring Mwanawasa's treatment in Sharm el-Sheikh. A health source said President Hosni Mubarak was expected to visit him in hospital.
Mwanawasa has become a favourite of the International Monetary Fund and other Western donors, who have extended billions of dollars in debt relief in the wake of his crackdown on government spending and launch of a massive anti-graft drive.
He built his reputation as a lawyer for the former opposition, and became Zambia's vice president in 1991 after Frederick Chiluba ousted founding President Kenneth Kaunda in landmark multiparty elections.
Mwanawasa stunned observers soon after winning the presidency in late 2001 by turning on Chiluba. (Additional reporting by Yusri Mohamed and Opheera McDoom; writing by Cynthia Johnston; editing by Andrew Roche)
Zambia's champion of democracy, Levy Mwanawasa, dies
7 hours ago
LUSAKA (AFP) — President Levy Mwanawasa, a trenchant critic of Robert Mugabe who won praise for his handling of Zambia's inflation-prone economy, died Tuesday in hospital in France aged 59.
Mwanawasa, who had been receiving treatment at the Percy Military Hospital near Paris, never recovered after suffering his second stroke in a little over two years at the end of June.
Announcing seven days of national mourning, acting head of state Vice President Rupiah Banda told state television and radio that Mwanawasa died at 10:30 local time (0830 GMT)....
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