The governor-general was the representative of the monarch in Malawi and exercised most of the powers of the monarch. The governor-general was appointed for an indefinite term, serving at the pleasure of the monarch. Since Malawi was granted independence by the Malawi Independence Act 1964, rather than being first established as a semi-autonomous dominion and later promoted to independence as defined by the Statute of Westminster 1931, the governor-general was to be always appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Malawi without the involvement of the British government. As Malawi became a republic before Glyn Jones, the former colonial governor, was replaced, this never happened. In the event of a vacancy the chief justice would have served as the officer administering the government.
Under the country's 1966, 1994 and 1995 constitutions, the president is executive head of state.
The first president, Hastings Banda, was elected by the National Assembly and subsequently had himself declared president for life in 1970. He was defeated in 1994, a year after his life term was abolished as part of Malawi's transition to democracy. Since then, presidents have been elected in direct popular elections for a five-year term. Presidents may be elected any number of times, but not more than twice in a row. In the event of a vacancy, the vice-president becomes president for the balance of the term.
The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Orders of Guyana. Concurrent with their constitutional role as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the president does not appoint a separate Minister of Defence. That portfolio is held by the president who fulfils all responsibilities designated to a minister of defence under the Defence Act.
The republics in the Commonwealth of Nations are the sovereign states in the organisation with a republican form of government. As of June 2022, 36 out of the 56 member states were republics. While Charles III is the titular Head of the Commonwealth, the King is not the head of state of the republican members. The King is however, the reigning monarch in the Commonwealth realms. The Head of the Commonwealth role does not carry with it any power; instead, it is a symbol of the free association of Commonwealth members.
The monarchy of Barbados was a system of government in which a hereditary monarch was the sovereign and head of state of Barbados from 1966 to 2021. Barbados shared the sovereign with the other Commonwealth realms, with the country's monarchy being separate and legally distinct. The monarch's operational and ceremonial duties were mostly delegated to her representative, the governor-general of Barbados.
Elizabeth II was Queen of Malawi from 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was an independent sovereign state and a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations. She was also the sovereign of the other Commonwealth realms, including the United Kingdom. The 1964 Constitution of Malawi vested executive power in the monarch as head of state, though her constitutional roles were delegated to her representative, the Governor-General, Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones, who was also the last Governor of Nyasaland.
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