The history of Malawi covers the area of present-day Malawi. The region was once part of the Maravi Empire. In colonial times,the territory was ruled by the British,under whose control it was known first as British Central Africa and later Nyasaland. It becomes part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The country achieved full independence,as Malawi,in 1964. After independence,Malawi was ruled as a one-party state under Hastings Banda until 1994.
Politics of Malawi takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic,whereby the President of Malawi is both head of state and head of government,and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. There is a cabinet of Malawi that is appointed by the President of Malawi. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Elson Bakili Muluzi is a Malawian politician who was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi's president. He also served in Banda's cabinet as minister without portfolio,before retiring in 1980.
The United Democratic Front is a political party in Malawi founded in 1992 by Bakili Muluzi. It claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. Bakili Muluzi was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004.
Brown James Mpinganjira,popularly known as BJ is a Malawian Politician who used his 1986 detention to fight the injustices of the then one party state. He worked with others in prison and used their time to devise ways on how to change the direction of Malawi's political state.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a political party in Malawi. The party was formed in February 2005 by Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika after a dispute with the United Democratic Front (UDF),which was led by his predecessor,Bakili Muluzi.
John Zenus Ungapake Tembo was a Malawian politician who served for years as President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Tembo comes from the Dedza District in central Malawi,and he was a teacher by profession. Beginning in the 1960s he was an important politician in Malawi,and he was a key figure in the regime of Hastings Banda (1964–1994). He has been variously described as "physically slight,ascetic,fastidious" and "cunning". He was replaced as President of the MCP in August 2013.
Gwandaguluwe "Gwanda" Chakuamba Phiri was a Malawian politician who was the leader of the New Republican Party (NRP). He hailed from Nsanje,a district on the southern part of Malawi. Gwanda Chakuamba attended Zomba Catholic Secondary School,a 2 year metriculation at Sulosi College in Bulawayo Zimbabwe before proceeding to the US to study law though not much is known about whether he did a degree program or a short course.
Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician,who served as President of Malawi,from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party,created in 2011. An educator and grassroots women's rights activist,she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012. She has served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.
Justin Chimera Malewezi was a Malawian politician and a Member of Parliament for Ntchisi North in the Central Region of Malawi. He was Vice-President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. Malewezi quit the United Democratic Front in 2004 and eventually represented the People's Progressive Movement in the 2004 general election,in which he garnered 2.5% of the total national vote.
General elections were held in Malawi on 19 May 2009. Incumbent President Bingu wa Mutharika ran for re-election;his main opponent was John Tembo,the president of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). Five other candidates also ran. The election was won by Mutharika,who was re-elected to the Presidency with around two-thirds of the vote. Mutharika's DPP also won a strong parliamentary majority.
Goodall Edward Gondwe was a Malawian economist who served in his country's cabinet as Minister of Finance on two occasions:from 2004 to 2009,and from 2014 to 2019. He also served as Minister of Local Government from 2009 to 2010 and Minister of Natural Resources,Energy and Environment Affairs from 2011 to 2012.
General elections were held in Malawi on 17 May 1994 to elect the President and National Assembly. They were the first multi-party elections in the country since prior to independence in 1964,and the first since the restoration of multi-party democracy the previous year. The Malawi Congress Party (MCP),which had governed the country since independence,was decisively beaten by the United Democratic Front (UDF).
Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice,specialising in international economic law,international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother,President Bingu wa Mutharika,on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.
Khumbo Hasting Kachali is a Malawian politician who was Vice President of Malawi from April 2012 to May 2014,serving under President Joyce Banda. He is the first vice president from the Northern Region of Malawi. The three previous vice presidents came from the central and southern regions. Kachali previously held a number of cabinet positions between 2004 and 2010.
Harry Thomson,also known as "Clean Harry",was a Malawian politician. He was born in Zomba,the capital of Nyasaland. He was a founding member of the United Democratic Front party (UDF) and a Minister of Trade and Industry.
Robert Chasowa was a University of Malawi engineering student and political activist. Chasowa was the chair of a student activist group,Youth for Democracy (YFD). The YFD printed a weekly pro-democracy and anti-Bingu wa Mutharika administration newsletter called the Weekly Political Update that has circulation around the UNIMA campus. His mysterious death made international headlines but was ruled a suicide under the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. In October 2012,the results of a commission of inquiry led by President Joyce Banda's administration ruled his death as a murder.
Mabvuto Banda is an investigative journalist from Malawi. Banda is a well respected journalist in Malawi and on the continent. His writings have been subject of controversy due to a strong stance against corruption and other political exposés. He has been arrested five times due to his work.
Saulos Klaus Chilima was a Malawian economist and politician who served as Vice President of Malawi from 2014 to 2019 and again from 2020 until his death in 2024. Chilima assumed office on 28 June 2020,winning the majority alongside presidential candidate Lazarus Chakwera. Chilima also served as the Minister of Economic Planning and Development,as well as Head of Public Sector Reforms,a position he also previously held under the administration of former president Peter Mutharika. Before joining politics,Chilima held key leadership positions in various multi-national companies including Unilever,Coca-Cola,and Airtel Malawi,where he rose to become Chief Executive Officer.
