KEEMBE, ZAMBIA (August 17, 2016) — North Park Seminary graduate and international HIV/AIDS activist Princess Kasune Zulu has won a seat to the Parliament of her native country, Zambia.

Zulu, who earned an M.Div. at North Park, has spoken at many Covenant events, institutions, and churches, and served as an associate pastor at River City Community Covenant Church in Chicago. She moved back to Zambia several months ago.

Zulu won with 20,608 votes, far ahead of her nearest rival, who garnered 5,458 votes, according to the official count. The election was held August 11.

Through her Fountain of Life non-governmental organization, which was incorporated in the United States, Zulu has done community work in Zambia and elsewhere on issues that have included health and education. Providing equal access to education and healthcare were foundational to her campaign.

Both of Zulu’s parents and two siblings died of AIDS. Zulu married at the age of 17, and her first husband infected her with HIV. After being diagnosed in 1997 at age 19, she became an HIV/AIDS activist.

Zulu, who also served as an ambassador for World Vision, has met with international leaders, including President George W. Bush, spoken to the United Nations, UNICEF, and Oxfam, as well as the Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s Urbana missions conference.

She is the first minister to Parliament who has openly declared her HIV-positive status.