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.
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.
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.
George T. Chaponda is a Malawian career diplomat and politician who served as Malawi's Minister of Agriculture,Irrigation and Water Development from 2016 to 2017. He is a founding member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and is a DPP Member of Parliament from Mulanje district in southern Malawi.
Cassim Chilumpha is a Malawian politician who was Vice-President of Malawi from June 2004 to May 2009. Later,under President Joyce Banda,he was appointed as Minister of Energy and Mining in April 2012.
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.
Madame Callista Chapola-Chimombo is a Malawian politician and the widow of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She served as the First Lady of the Republic of Malawi from 2010 to 2012. Chimombo is a previous member of the Cabinet of Malawi as a National Coordinator of Maternal,Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis.
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.
Vice-President of Malawi is the second highest political position in Malawi.
Billy Kaunda is a current member of parliament from Mzimba District. He went to parliament on an independent ticket in the 2009 Parliamentary and presidential elections. He once served in the Malawi Cabinet as Deputy Minister of Youth Development and Sports under the Bingu wa Mutharika Government. He was also in the previous Parliament (2004–2009) on the National Democratic Alliance ticket and also served as a Deputy Minister.
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 currently Minister of Health. He is the son of the former president Bakili Muluzi.
Patricia Annie Kaliati is a Malawian politician and former educator who has held various ministerial positions in the Cabinet of Malawi.
Sidik Mia was a Malawian businessman,politician,and Member of Parliament who held various ministerial positions within the Cabinet of Malawi beginning in 2004,serving as Minister of Transport and Public Works since June 2020. He was the Deputy President of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) until his death due to COVID-19 related illness on 12 January 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malawi. He stood as the vice presidential running mate to Dr. Lazarus Chakwera in the 2019 Malawian general election.
Eta Elizabeth Banda is a former Malawian politician who was the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2009 to 2011. Prior to entering politics,she worked as a health professional and university administrator.
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.
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.
Sosten Gwengwe is a Malawian politician currently serving as Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Republic of Malawi since January 30,2022. He previously served as Minister of Trade from June 2020 until his appointment as Finance and Economic Affairs Minister.
