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Bingu wa MutharikaPresident of Malawi since 24 May 2004
Date of Birth: 24.02.1934
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Content:
- President of Malawi: Bingu wa Mutharika
- Career in Government and International Organizations
- Political Career in Malawi
- Presidency and Conflict with Muluzi
President of Malawi: Bingu wa Mutharika
Early Life and EducationBingu wa Mutharika, born Brighton Webster Ryson Thom, is a Malawian economist and politician who has served as President of Malawi since 24 May 2004. He hails from Thyolo, a town 30 kilometers from the capital city, Blantyre. In the 1960s, during the rise of Pan-Africanism, he changed his name to Bingu wa Mutharika, using the prefix "wa" to evade the surveillance of Hastings Kamuzu Banda's regime, despite not being a political opponent. After studying at the University of Delhi in India, he earned a master's degree in economics and later a doctorate in development economics (although the University of the Western Pacific has been criticized by many as an institution not meeting adequate standards and often operating as a "diploma mill").
Career in Government and International Organizations
For a period, wa Mutharika worked in the Malawian civil service and later in the Zambian government. In 1978, he joined the United Nations, where he became Director of the Trade and Development Policy Division for Africa. In 1991, wa Mutharika was appointed Secretary General of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), a regional bloc of 20 nations.
Political Career in Malawi
As Banda was forced to liberalize his regime, wa Mutharika emerged as one of the founders of the United Democratic Front (UDF), the party that won Malawi's first multi-party elections in 1994. Initially supporting UDF leader and President Bakili Muluzi, wa Mutharika soon became an outspoken critic of Muluzi's economic policies and left the UDF. He formed the United Party (UP) in 1997 and unsuccessfully contested the 1999 presidential election against Muluzi, receiving less than 1% of the vote. Wa Mutharika subsequently dissolved the UP and returned to the UDF after being offered the position of Deputy Governor of Malawi's Reserve Bank.
In 2002, he became Minister of Economic Planning and Development and was later touted by Muluzi as a potential successor. In the 2004 presidential election, he won around 36% of the vote, defeating his rivals John Tembo and Gwanda Chakuamba.
Presidency and Conflict with Muluzi
After taking office, wa Mutharika had a falling out with Muluzi over the former's anti-corruption campaign. The dispute between them became one of the defining events of wa Mutharika's presidency.
