Zambia's vice president Guy Scott, a white Zambian of Scottish descent, became the country's acting president on Wednesday, making him the first white leader of a sub-Saharan African nation since 1994 when South Africa moved to majority rule.
The appointment of Guy Scott as Zambia's acting president until elections are held within 90 days followed the death of President Michael Sata in a London hospital after a long illness.

Sata, once dubbed "Mr. King Cobra" for his sharp-tongued remarks, had largely dropped out of public view months ago as his health deteriorated. The government did not divulge details of his condition, but some Zambian media outlets said he suffered multiple organ failure.
Under the constitution, Scott, a 70-year-old former agriculture minister who also worked in Zambia's finance ministry, cannot run for president because his parents were not Zambians by birth or descent.
"Elections for the office of president will take place within 90 days. In the interim, I am the acting president," Scott said in a radio address. "The period of national mourning started today. We will miss our beloved president and commander."
Defense minister Edgar Lungu, who also runs the justice ministry and is secretary general of the ruling Patriotic Front party, said it is a difficult period for Zambia and the party that Sata founded.
"The government remains intact and so does the PF as a party," said Lungu, who is considered a possible presidential candidate.
Sata died shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday at London's King Edward VII hospital, Cabinet secretary Roland Msiska said.