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]
Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party,which he founded in February 2005;it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election.
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.
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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.
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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.
Atupele Muluzi is a Malawian politician,businessman and was a Member of Parliament for Machinga North East constituency from 2004 until May 27,2019. He is also the President of the United Democratic Front and was a presidential candidate during the 2019 election. He was a running mate in the 2020 presidential elections,on a coalition ticket with incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party. Muluzi was Minister of Natural Resources,Energy and Mining from 2014 to 2015 and the only opposition member to serve in the Mutharika administration. Subsequently,he served as Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in 2015,and then Minister of Lands,Housing and Urban Development in 2015. He is the son of the former president Bakili Muluzi.
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Patricia Annie Kaliati is a Malawian politician and former educator who has held various ministerial positions in the Cabinet of Malawi.
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.
This is a list of past cabinets in Malawi that preceded the current cabinet of Malawi.
The 2012 Malawian constitutional crisis occurred from April 5,2012 - April 7,2012 after senior members of the Democratic Progressive Party-led cabinet failed to notify the public of the death of the sitting president,Bingu wa Mutharika on April 5. Instead,cabinet ministers held a series of meetings in Lilongwe,Malawi without vice-president Joyce Banda with the aim of undermining the constitution and Banda's succession to Presidency. News confirming his death had,however,quickly spread across the country through word of mouth,cellphone text messages,Malawian bloggers,Twitter,Facebook,and on listservs by the end of the day on April 5,2012. Therefore,the failure to announce his death resulted in speculation over the real health of the president and over whether the succession procedures would be followed as outlined in the constitution. According to the constitution,the vice-president takes over but there had been no official word on a successor or communication with the vice-president. Amidst growing speculation,the Cabinet announced that the president's brother,Peter Mutharika,the foreign minister,was the new President of the party on April 6. The Cabinet only announced his death two days after his death,after which Banda became Malawi's first female President.
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Raphael "Ralph" Tenthani was a freelance journalist from Malawi. Tenthani was a BBC correspondent and a columnist for The Sunday Times. He was a respected journalist in Malawi well known for his popular column,"The Muckraking". He was well known for providing political analysis on topical issues. He had been the subject of controversy for his candid reporting on political issues. He was very critical of the crackdown on journalism during the Bingu wa Mutharika administration. He was also a columnist for Associated Press,Pan African News Agency,and the Maravi Post.
Richard Msowoya is a Malawian politician who served as Speaker of the National Assembly of Malawi from 2014 to 2019.
Grace Chiumia,is a Malawian politician who has served as Minister of Civic education in the Malawian cabinet,since 24 October 2017. Before her current appointment,she was the Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security,in the Malawian Cabinet,from 6 September 2016 until 24 October 2017.
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