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{{Infobox officeholder
| name               = Guy Scott
| image              = Guy_Scott.jpg
| caption            = Scott, photographed in 2014
| office             = [[President of Zambia]]<br>{{small|[[Acting (law)|Acting]]}}  
| vicepresident      = 
| term_start         = 29 October 2014
| term_end           = 25 January 2015
| predecessor        = [[Michael Sata]]
| successor          = [[Edgar Lungu]]
| order2             = 12th
| office2            = Vice-President of Zambia
| mp                 = [[Lusaka Central]]
| president2         = [[Michael Sata]]
| term_start2        = 23 September 2011
| term_end2          = 29 October 2014
| predecessor2       = [[George Kunda]]
| successor2         = [[Inonge Wina]]
| office3            = Minister of Agriculture
| president3         = [[Frederick Chiluba]]
| term_start3        = 2 November 1991
| term_end3          = 15 April 1993
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1944|6|1}} 
| birth_place        = [[Livingstone, Zambia|Livingstone]], [[Northern Rhodesia]]
| nationality        = Zambian 
| spouse             = Charlotte Scott 
|children            = 4
| party              = [[Patriotic Front (Zambia)|Patriotic Front]] {{small|(2001–present)}}<br>[[Movement for Multi-Party Democracy|MMD]] {{small|(1990–1996)}}
| alma_mater         = [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]]<br>[[University of Sussex]] {{small|(PhD)}}
| profession         = Economist
| religion           = [[Presbyterianism]]{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}
| signature          = 
| signature_alt      = 
| website            = 
| footnotes          =
| blank1             = Nickname(s)
| data1              =  
}}

'''Guy Lindsay Scott''' (born 1 June 1944) is a [[Zambia]]n politician and was the Acting [[President of Zambia]] from October 2014 to January 2015. Scott served as [[Vice-President of Zambia]] from 2011 to 2014, and became acting president on the death of President [[Michael Sata]] on 28 October 2014.<ref name = "phd">{{cite news |last= Laing |first=Aislinn|date=29 October 2014 |title=I am Africa's first white democratic leader, says Zambian vice-president |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/zambia/11195196/I-am-Africas-first-white-democratic-leader-says-Zambian-vice-president.html |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=Cape Town |accessdate= 29 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date=29 October 2014 |title=Cabinet appoints Guy Scott as Interim President – reaction from Gen Miyanda |url=http://www.lusakatimes.com/2014/10/29/cabinet-appoints-guy-scott-acting-president-reaction-gen-miyanda/ |newspaper=[[Lusaka Times]] |location= |accessdate=29 October 2014 }}</ref>

==Family and early life==
Scott was born in 1944 in [[Livingstone, Zambia|Livingstone]] in [[Northern Rhodesia]] (today Zambia). His father, Alec Scott, emigrated to Northern Rhodesia from [[Scotland]] in 1927, while his mother, Grace, emigrated from England in 1940. He is the brother of Alexander P Scott (published name of AP Scott), an esteemed scientist, and the winner of the [[Ray Beverton#Beverton Medal|2014 Breverton Medal]], for contributions to fisheries science. 
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/30/zambians-dont-care-about-president-guy-scott-skin-colour-white|title=Zambians don't care about our new president's skin colour|author=Namwali Serpell|work=the Guardian|accessdate=5 November 2014}}</ref>

Scott completed his primary and secondary education at [[Springvale School]] and [[Peterhouse Boys' School]] in [[Southern Rhodesia]] (today [[Zimbabwe]]) respectively and his tertiary education in the United Kingdom at [[Cambridge University]] and the [[University of Sussex]], where he obtained a degree in economics and a PhD in [[cognitive science]] respectively.<ref name = "phd"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Zambia: ‘Guy Scott Profile’|url=http://www.patriotic-front.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=19&Itemid=20/|accessdate=23 September 2011}}</ref> His participation in Zambian politics was inspired by his father, who was an ally of Zambian nationalists and a founder of anti-colonial government newspapers. During the 1950s, his father was a member of the [[Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland|Federal]] Parliament for [[Lusaka]], standing on an independent ticket.

He is married and currently lives and works in [[Lusaka]].

==Professional achievements==
After graduating from [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]], in 1965, Scott joined the government of Zambia, where he served in the Ministry of Finance as a planner. He was also the deputy editor of ''The Business and Economy of East and Central Africa'' during this period.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

In 1970, Scott set up Walkover Estates. This was an agribusiness venture, which ventured into high-value crops such as irrigated wheat, strawberries, and a wide range off-season vegetables. He then went on to study robotics at [[Oxford University]] during the 1980s.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

He completed a PhD in Artificial Intelligence at the [[University of Sussex]] and was awarded the doctorate degree in 1986. Scott's research title was "Local and global interpretation of moving images".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/cogslib/details.php?id=7447|title=Informatics Resource Centre: Item  7447|author=John Williams|publisher=}}</ref>

==Political career==
In 1990, Scott joined the [[Movement for Multi-Party Democracy]] (MMD) where he was elected to serve as Chair of the Agriculture Committee at the first convention.

He was elected as Member of Parliament for [[Mpika District|Mpika]] on the MMD ticket in the [[National Assembly of Zambia|National Assembly]] during the [[Zambian general election, 1991|1991 general election]] and was subsequently appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries. He presided over a number of policy reforms and was responsible for managing the "drought of the century" in January and February 1992. There was no reserve maize in Zambia and none in southern Africa, so emergency arrangements had to be made to import it from overseas and move it into Zambia on dilapidated rail and road networks. He also oversaw the drought recovery "bumper harvest" of 1992–93.

In 1996, Scott resigned from the MMD to form the Lima Party together with Ben Kapita, the president of the ZNFU. He piloted the merger between the Lima Party and other parties including Dean Mungomba's [[Zambia Democratic Congress]] to form the [[Zambia Alliance for Progress]]. In 2001, he returned to politics and joined the [[Patriotic Front (Zambia)|Patriotic Front]], returning to the National Assembly after being elected MP for [[Lusaka Central (Zambia Parliament constituency)|Lusaka Central]] in the [[Zambian general election, 2006|2006 general election]].

===Vice-President===
[[File:President Obama Chats With Mozambique's President Guebuza and Zambia's Vice President Scott.jpg|thumb|Guy Scott attending the [[United States–Africa Leaders Summit]].]]
A presidential election was held on 20 September 2011, and final results released on 23 September 2011 showed the Patriotic Front's presidential candidate, Michael Sata, winning over MMD's [[Rupiah Banda]] by a large margin. Guy Scott was consequently sworn in as Vice-President of the Republic of Zambia on 29 September 2011, first white Zambian leader after its independence.

Shortly after his election, ''[[The Guardian]]'' quoted Scott as saying: "I have long suspected Zambia is moving from a post-colonial to a cosmopolitan condition.  People's minds are changing: they are no longer sitting back and dwelling on what was wrong about colonialism". In a 2012 meeting with former US President [[George W. Bush]] (who sponsors various charity initiatives in Zambia), he said, "when they introduced me as Vice President, he thought they were kidding".<ref name="Dr Scott">{{cite web |url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/7699583/dr-scott-i-presume/ |title=Dr Scott, I presume? |date= 10 March 2012 |work= |publisher= [[The Spectator]] |accessdate=16 March 2013}}</ref>

===Acting President===
After [[Michael Sata]]'s death on 28 October 2014, Scott became acting president. The constitution of Zambia requires a new election within 90 days to permanently fill the office.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/29/world/africa/zambia-white-president/index.html Zambia's Guy Scott makes history as white president in sub-Saharan Africa], Faith Karimi, CNN, 29 October 2014.</ref>

The [[constitution of Zambia]] requires that both parents of presidential candidates are "Zambian by birth or descent", thus Scott was considered ineligible to stand in the January 2015 election.<ref>{{cite news|title=Another Zambian president dies in office. What happens now?|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/10/29/another-zambian-president-dies-in-office-what-happens-now/|accessdate=29 November 2014|work=[[The Washington Post]]|date=29 October 2014|author=Kim Yi Dionne}}</ref> The provision was put in place by President [[Frederick Chiluba]] to prevent [[Kenneth Kaunda]] – whose father was born in what became [[Malawi]] – from becoming president.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29816559|title=BBC News – Guy Scott's rise to Zambia's presidency|work=BBC News|accessdate=5 November 2014}}</ref> However, a [[Lewanika and Others vs. Chiluba|previous judgement]] by the Zambian Supreme Court, in a similar case in 1998, could have validated him as a potential candidate.<ref>{{cite news|title=After the Cobra: What does the law say about Vice-President Guy Scott?|url=http://eliasmunshya.org/2014/10/28/after-the-cobra-what-does-the-law-say-about-vice-president-guy-scott/|accessdate=29 October 2014|work=|date=28 October 2014}}</ref> Scott did not stand as a presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front.

On 3 November 2014, Scott dismissed [[Edgar Lungu]] as Secretary General of the Patriotic Front; however, he reinstated him a day later,<ref>[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29895308 Zambian President Guy Scott in row over Edgar Lungu sacking], ''BBC News'', 4 November 2014.</ref> after street protests in Lusaka.<ref>{{cite web|last1=SAPA|title=Zambia: Scott rescinds decision to dismiss Lungu|url=http://mg.co.za/article/2014-11-05-zambia-scott-rescinds-decision-to-dismiss-lungu|website=Mail & Guardian|accessdate=17 December 2014}}</ref> On 17 December 2014, Scott rejected calls from cabinet members asking him to resign as acting president.<ref>{{cite news|title=Zambia Cabinet Ministers Ask President Scott to Resign|url=http://www.voanews.com/content/zambia-cabinet-ministers-ask-president-scott-to-resign/2562413.html|accessdate=17 December 2014|agency=VOA|publisher=Reuters}}</ref>

Lungu, standing as the PF candidate, won the [[Zambian presidential election, 2015|January 2015 presidential by-election]] and succeeded Scott as President on 25 January 2015.<ref>Matthew Hill, [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-25/edgar-lungu-sworn-in-as-president-of-zambia-in-lusaka.html "Zambian Ruling Party's Edgar Lungu Inaugurated as President"], Bloomberg, 25 January 2015.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links | wikt=no |q =no | b=no | n=no |s=no | v=no | voy=no | species=no |d=Q153986| display=Guy Scott}}
* [http://www.pf.org.zm/index.php/leadership/dr-guy-scott-vice-president Profile] on the party website
* [http://canadapodcasts.ca/podcasts/Hardtalk/2941968 Interview] on BBC Hardtalk

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{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[George Kunda]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Vice Presidents of Zambia|Vice-President of Zambia]]|years=2011–2014}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Inonge Wina]]}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Michael Sata]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Presidents of Zambia|President of Zambia]]<br>{{small|[[Acting (law)|Acting]]}}|years=2014–2015}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Edgar Lungu]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{ZambianPresidents}}
{{ZambianVicePresidents}}

[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Government ministers of Zambia]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly]]
[[Category:Movement for Multi-Party Democracy politicians]]
[[Category:Patriotic Front politicians]]
[[Category:People from Southern Province]]
[[Category:Presidents of Zambia]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:Vice Presidents of Zambia]]
[[Category:Zambian businesspeople]]
[[Category:Zambian people of British descent]]
[[Category:Zambian people of English descent]]
[[Category:Zambian people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:White Zambian people]]