President Bingu wa Mutharika addressing the United Nations General Assembly.

Bingu wa Mutharika (born February 24, 1934) is a Malawi economist, politician, and the current President of Malawi. He took office on May 24, 2004, after winning a disputed presidential election. http://www. ... http://www. ... United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... List of Heads of State of Malawi Affiliations:- MCP = Malawi Congress Party - nationalist, authoritarian, sole legal party 1966-1993 UDF = United Democratic Front - liberal For colonial heads prior to independence see: Colonial Heads of Malawi (Nyasaland) See also- Heads of Government of Malawi lists of incumbents Categories: Lists of office... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Presidential elections and legislative elections were held in Malawi on May 20, 2004. ...

Born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom in Thyolo, about 30km from Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, he reverted to the family name of Mutharika and adopted the first name of Bingu during the 1960s when pan-Africanism was sweeping across the continent. Thyolo is a town located in the Southern Region of Malawi. ... Blantyre is the largest city in Malawi and the capital of the countrys Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... Pan-Africanism is a term which can have two separate, but related meanings. ...

He later added the prefix 'wa' between his names to disguise his identity from Hastings Kamuzu Banda's state security, who were hunting down his opponents around the world. Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1898? - November 25, 1997) was the founding President and former dictator of Malawi. ...

Mutharika was the son of a primary school headmaster. He was educated at the University of Delhi, India, where he gained a master's degree in economics. He later obtained a PhD in development economics from Pacific Western University, in Los Angeles, California. The University of Delhi (Hindi: दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय) is a university in India. ... Pacific Western University is an unaccredited distance learning university located in San Diego, California with branch campuses in Tokyo, Japan, Hong Kong, Taipei, Taiwan, and Hanoi, Vietnam. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

After serving in the Malawi civil service and also for a period in the government of Zambia, Mutharika joined the United Nations in 1978, where he eventually became Director for Trade and Development Finance for Africa. In 1991 he was appointed secretary-general of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), a regional body of 20 countries. United Nations - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a free trade area with twenty one member states stretching from Egypt to Namibia. ...

One reason for Mutharika's decision to join the UN was his opposition to the regime of Malawi's self-declared "President for Life," Hastings Kamuzu Banda. After Banda was forced to liberalise his regime, Mutharika was one of the founders of the United Democratic Front, the party that won Malawi's first multiparty elections in 1994. President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to ensure that their authority, legitimacy, and term is never questioned or disputed. ... The United Democratic Front claims to be a liberal party in Malawi and is mainly strong in the southern region populated by ethnic Yao. ...

Mutharika was at that time a supporter of the UDF leader, President Bakili Muluzi, but he soon became a critic of Muluzi's economic policies and left the UDF. He formed the United Party (UP) in 1997 and unsuccessfully opposed Muluzi in the 1999 presidential elections, taking less than 1% of the vote.^[1] Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943) was the president of Malawi from 1994 until 2004. ...

Mutharika dissolved the UP and rejoined the UDF after being offered the deputy governorship at Reserve Bank of Malawi. He was appointed Minister of Economic Planning and Development in 2002, and was then nominated by Muluzi as his successor. Mutharika won about 36% of the vote in the presidential election of May 20, 2004, ahead of John Tembo and Gwanda Chakuamba, and took office a few days later.^[1] The Reserve Bank of Malawi is the central bank of Malawi, and established under an Act of Parliament in July 1964 and began operations in June of 1965 in Blantyre. ... May 20 is the 140th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (141st in leap years). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Gwanda Chakuamba (b. ...

After taking office, Mutharika came into conflict with Muluzi, head of the UDF, over Mutharika's campaign against corruption. The dispute between them has characterized Mutharika's time in office thus far, and it has been claimed that political conflict is interfering with the country's governance.^[2] On February 5, 2005, Mutharika announced his resignation from the UDF; he had been criticized by some in the UDF,^[3] and there had been talk of expelling him from the party.^[4] There had also been an alleged assassination plot against him by party members in early January 2005. Those accused were later pardoned by Mutharika, but he maintained the existence of the plot.^[5] Mutharika subsequently formed his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).^[2] February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is the ruling political party in Malawi. ...

Gwanda Chakuamba, who had been made minister of agriculture, was dismissed from the cabinet and subsequently arrested in September 2005 for making a speech predicting that Mutharika would be out of office by Christmas.^[6] In 2006, the vice-president, Cassim Chilumpha, was arrested; he was accused of plotting Mutharika's assassination.^[7] Dr. Cassim Chilumpha (born 29 November 1958) has been vice-president of Malawi since 16 June 2004. ...

It was reported in March 2005 that he was not sleeping in the state mansion because of suspicions that it is home to evil spirits. A presidential aide was quoted as saying that Christian clergy had been asked to exorcise the spirits. This was subsequently denied, and journalists responsible for the story, including a BBC reporter, were arrested. Mutharika said that "I have not met any ghosts yet, I have never in my life been afraid of them".^[8] The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, sometimes also known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, founded in 1922. ...

Mutharika has upheld the memory of Hastings Banda as a national hero; in May 2006, he was present at the unveiling of a mausoleum for Banda that cost US$620,000.^[9]

His brother, Peter Mutharika, holds a doctorate from Yale and is a prominent law professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

References

1. ^ ^a b Elections in Malawi, African Elections Database.
2. ^ ^a b "Political squabbles hamper goverance, says conflict report", IRIN, May 26, 2006.
3. ^ "Mutharika resigns from party, reshuffles cabinet", IRIN, February 7, 2005.
4. ^ "Political infighting could destabilise govt", IRIN, January 31, 2005.
5. ^ "Mutharika frees party leaders involved in "assassination" plot", IRIN, January 7, 2005.
6. ^ "Sacked Malawi minister detained", BBC.co.uk, September 14, 2005.
7. ^ "Concern over threat of renewed political instability", IRIN, May 2, 2006.
8. ^ "Malawi 'haunted palace' arrests", BBC.co.uk, March 17, 2005.
9. ^ "Mutharika pays Banda a US$620,000 tribute", IRIN, May 17, 2006.