Catherine Gotani Hara | |
|---|---|
 Gotani Hara in 2019 | |
| Speaker of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 19 June 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Msowoya |
| Constituency | Mzimba North East |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | MCP |
Catherine Gotani Hara is a Malawian politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly since June 2019,the first woman to hold the position.
Gotani Hara attended Kamuzu Academy, [1] and has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Chancellor College at the University of Malawi. [2] [3] While studying,she ran the university's wing of the Malawi Congress Party. [1] From 1998 to 2000,she completed professional postgraduate training in International Development and Project Planning and Management Brighton. [1] [4] [2] [3] [5]
Gotani Hara was a Programme Officer for the UK's Department of International Development, [4] the first Malawian to be recruited to that level. [3] She was responsible for the sustainable livelihood projects for both Mozambique and Malawi. [3]
Gotani Hara was elected as the Member of Parliament for Mzimba North East [6] in 2009,representing the Democratic Progressive Party. [4]
Gotani Hara was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Infrastructure, [7] Deputy Minister for Gender, [5] and the Minister for Health in the Joyce Banda government. [2] [8] She represented the Malawi Head of State at a number of international events,and was the Chair of the Malawi delegation to the Climate Change Summit in Brazil. [1] She is a board member of the Northern Region Water Board. [1] After the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012,she publicly declared that it unconstitutional for members in the ruling DPP politburo to take over the presidency. [9] She took a break from politics from 2014 to 2019. [9]
Gotani Hara was re-elected in May 2019 representing Malawi Congress Party and on 19 June 2019,she was elected the first female Speaker of the National Assembly, [3] with 97 votes to 93 over former deputy speaker Esther Mcheka Chilenje. [4] [10]
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