Diplomacy & Public Service
Landmark
Vernon Mwaanga
born 1943
One of the youngest ambassadors in the world, at twenty-one
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Zambia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
Zambia had been independent a year when it sent him to Moscow as ambassador. He was twenty-one.
Vernon Johnson Mwaanga became Zambia's first Ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1965, aged twenty-one, making him one of the youngest ambassadors in the world.
He went on to serve as Zambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and in posts across Western Europe, and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1975.
He went on to serve as Zambia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and in posts across Western Europe, and was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1973 to 1975.
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