| Commander of the Defence Force | |
|---|---|
| Reports to | Minister of Defence |
| Appointer | President |
The Commander of the Malawi Defence Force is the highest-ranking military officer in the Malawian Defence Force and is responsible for maintaining control over the three service branches of the military.
 |
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) | Term of office | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 7 |  | General Kelvin Simwaka (born ?) | ? | 17 January 1998 | ? | [1] |
| 8 | | Lieutenant General Joseph Chimbayo (born ?) | 17 January 1998 | July 2004 | 6 years | [1] |
| 9 |  | General Marko Chiziko (born 1952) | July 2004 | 22 July 2011 | 6–7 years | |
| 10 |  | General Henry Odillo (born ?) | 22 July 2011 | 4 August 2014 | 3 years, 13 days | [2] |
| 11 | | General Ignasio Maulana (born ?) | 4 August 2014 | 31 July 2016 | 1 year, 362 days | [3] [4] |
| 12 |  | General Griffin Supuni Phiri (born ?) | 25 August 2016 | 9 August 2019 | 2 years, 349 days | [5] |
| 13 |  | General Vincent Nundwe (born ?) | 9 August 2019 | 31 March 2020 | 235 days | [6] |
| 14 | | General Peter Namathanga (born ?) | 31 March 2020 | 25 September 2020 | 178 days | [7] [8] |
| 13 | | General Vincent Nundwe (born ?) | 25 September 2020 | 13 July 2023 | 2 years, 291 days | [8] |
| 15 |  | General Paul Valentino Phiri (born 1972) | 13 July 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 155 days | [9] |
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.
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.
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The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through Resolution 2098. Although it is not the first instance in which the use of force was authorized by the UN, the Force Intervention Brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation specifically tasked to carry out targeted offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" groups considered a threat to state authority and civilian security. In this case, the main target was the M23 militia group, as well as other Congolese and foreign rebel groups. While such operations do not require the support of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Force Intervention Brigade often acts in unison with the FARDC to disarm rebel groups.
General elections were held in Malawi on 20 May 2014. They were Malawi's first tripartite elections, the first time the president, National Assembly and local councillors were elected on the same day. The presidential election was won by opposition candidate Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party, who defeated incumbent President Joyce Banda.
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.
Chanju Samantha Mwale is a Malawian lawyer and army officer. She was the first female lawyer in the Malawian Defence Force and in 2016 became the first female officer of the Malawian Army to be promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. She was transferred to a research role in 2016, a move she alleged was illegal and took to the Malawi High Court. The court did not hear the case and Mwale chose to retire from the army.
General elections were held in Malawi on 21 May 2019 to elect the President, National Assembly and local government councillors. Incumbent President Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party was re-elected, with his party remaining the largest in the National Assembly. However, on 3 February 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the presidential election results due to evidence of irregularities, and ordered fresh elections be held. They were widely dubbed the "Tipp-Ex elections" after a brand of correction fluid which opponents claimed had been used to tamper with votes.
Presidential elections were held in Malawi on 23 June 2020, having originally been scheduled for 19 May and later 2 July. They followed the annulment of the results of the 2019 presidential elections, in which Peter Mutharika of the Democratic Progressive Party had received the most votes.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Malawi on 2 April 2020. It has spread to all districts of Malawi.
Timothy Mtambo of Chitipa is a Malawian politician and serves as Minister of Civic Education and National Unity in Malawi government since 2020. Prior to active politics, Mtambo was a human rights activist. He is mostly known for the role he played by leading demonstrations against the regime of President Peter Mutharika, accusing the regime of nepotism and corruption. Mtambo also holds the position of Commander in Chief of Citizen for Transformation Movement (CFT).
Paul Valentino Phiri is a Malawian military officer who was appointed as the Commander of the Malawian Defence Force (MDF) in July 2023 by President Lazarus Chakwera. He became the first officer from the Army's Infantry Corps to lead the MDF.
