Zambian President Dies at 59

PARIS — The French president's office says President Mwanawasa of Zambia has died. He was 59.

The statement from President Sarkozy's office did not say how, when, or where the Zambian leader had died.

Mwanawasa had been hospitalized in France since suffering a stroke in June. Zambian state press said earlier yesterday that his condition had suddenly taken a turn for the worse.

Mwanawasa won praise for his anti-corruption and economic modernization drive in one of the world's biggest copper producers but failed to lift the Zambian people out of crushing poverty.

Mr. Sarkozy called his death "a great loss for the African continent" and for democracy.