Dipak Patel

Dipak Kumar A. Patel (born 12 July 1953 in Mufulira) is a Zambian politician of Hindu Indian origin. His ancestral roots traces back to Gujarat, India. He served long tenures both as a Member of Parliament for Lusaka Central and as the Minister of Trade, Commerce, and Industry.

Career Patel was elected in 1991 to the National Assembly of Zambia under the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) in the Lusaka Central constituency. During this time he was also a member of the MMD's national executive committee. He was appointed Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Industry from 1991 to 1992, then held a succession of Cabinet Minister positions in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (1992), the Ministry of Youth, Sports, and Child Development (1992–1993), and the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Industry (1993–1996). However, he resigned from that last position in February 1996 due to disagreements with Chiluba; specifically, he objected to a proposed constitutional amendment which would bar individuals of "foreign parentage" from contesting the presidency. In the 1996 elections, he ran without any party affiliation and was returned to his seat representing Lusaka Central; in the 2001 elections he ran on the Forum for Democracy and Development ticket and was again elected. Police also arrested the Post editor Fred M'membe, but M'membe himself believed Patel was the police's real target. However, Mwanawasa appointed Patel to the position of Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Trade, Commerce, and Industry in February 2003, in a surprise move which also saw a number of other opposition lawmakers named to his cabinet. During his tenure under Mwanawasa, Patel served as Chair-Co-ordinator for the Least Developed Countries World Trade Organization negotiations in 2005.

Awards and honours 2001 Defender of Democracy award from international NGO Parliamentarians for Global Action