Profiles In Leadership: Mutale Nalumango
Mutale Nalumango was born in Kaputa District of Luapula Province on 1st January 1955.
Passionate Teacher
Nalumango is a teacher by profession, having worked in schools for the first 25 years of her professional life. Earlier this year, she said that her decision to be a teacher was “never about my position or what I would get at the end of the day. It was about service above self.”
Her teaching career was spent in the Copperbelt and Lusaka as well as parts of Northern Province. Roles within these schools varied from Head of Department of Languages to Deputy and Head Teacher.
Following this period of teaching, Nalumango served at the Secondary Schools’ Teachers Union of Zambia. Within the union she worked her way up to the position of Vice President.
Hardworking Politician
After working for several years in the education sector, Nalumango joined active politics in 2001 when she was elected as a Member of Parliament for her home constituency of Kaputa. Following this, she served in several high-power roles under the presidency of late President Levy Mwanawasa.
Her first role under the late president saw her in charge of labour and social security before becoming Information and Broadcasting Minister and then on to Chief Government Spokesperson.
In 2006 Nalumango was also to the role of Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly – the first woman in Zambia to hold this position. She accepted the post unchallenged. Female members across parliament rushed to congratulate Nalumango after she was led into the House.
Within the United Party for National Development (UPND) she has served as National Chairperson from 2013 before obtaining her current role in 2021 as Vice President and running mate for the UPND Alliance. She adds to a broad mix of UPND Alliance members.
Personal Life
Nalumango has been married to Max Nalumango for 44 years. They have two daughters and one son together. She is also an ordained minister as well as a devout Christian who aims to serve others for the glory of God. As a result, she has active involvement in church activities and mentoring of young women within religious circles.
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