Page 19 - 40th Summit Brochure 2020

PROFILE NEW LEADERS

H.E. Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera
President of the Republic of Malawi

HIS EXCELLENCY Dr Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera was sworn
into of ce on 28 June 2020 in Lilongwe, following his victory in
the Fresh Presidential Elections held on 23 June 2020.
Before joining frontline politics, Dr Chakwera was president
of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 until he resigned on
14 May 2013 to contest the 2014 general elections as a
presidential candidate for the Malawi Congress Party, the oldest
political party in Malawi which was in the forefront of the
struggle for Malawi’s Independence.
From 2014, Dr Chakwera served as leader of opposition in the
National Assembly until February 2019 when he submitted his
nomination papers to the Malawi Electoral Commission for the
second time to run for president in the May 2019 elections.
When the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections was nullif ed by the Constitutional
Court in February 2020, Dr Chakwera again contested in the fresh presidential election held
on 23 June and emerged victorious with 58.57 percent of the votes cast.
16 Dr Chakwera was born on the outskirts of Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi on 5 April
1955 to Earnest Person Chakwera and Mallen Mwale who were subsistence farmers.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) Degree from the University of Malawi
in 1977. He got his Honours degree from the University of the North, Sovenga, South Africa.
In 1991, he got his Masters from the University of South Africa. T e Trinity International
University in Deerf eld, Illinois, United States, awarded him a Doctorate in 2000 while the Pan
Africa T eological Seminary awarded him Professorship in 2005.
He has served in a number of roles of executive leadership, both in Malawi and
internationally.
He is married to Monica and they have four children and 12 grandchildren.