List of heads of state of Malawi

This is a list of the heads of state of Malawi from the independence of Malawi in 1963 to the present day.

From 1964 to 1966 the head of state under the Malawi Independence Act 1964 was the Queen of Malawi, Elizabeth II, who was also the monarch of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms. The Queen was represented in Malawi by a Governor-General. Malawi became a republic under the Constitution of 1966 and the monarch and Governor-General were replaced by an executive President.

Monarch (1964–1966)

The succession to the throne was the same as the succession to the British throne.

Queen			Reign			Royal House	Prime Minister
№	Portrait	Name	Start	End	Duration
1		Elizabeth II (1926–)	6 July 1964	6 July 1966	2 years	Windsor	Banda

Governors-General

Standard of the Governor-General of Malawi

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. After the passage of the Statute of Westminster 1931, the Governor-General was appointed solely on the advice of the Cabinet of Malawi without the involvement of the British government. In the event of a vacancy the Chief Justice served as Officer Administering the Government.

Status

  Denotes Chief Justice acting as Officer Administering the Government

Governor-General			Term of Office			Monarch	Prime Minister
№	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
1		Sir Glyn Jones (1908–1992)	6 July 1964	6 July 1966	2 years	Elizabeth II	Banda

President of Malawi

Under the country's 1966, 1994 and 1995 constitutions, the President is executive head of state. The President is elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term. In the event of a vacancy, the Vice President serves as Acting President. The President leads the Malawian government's executive branch and is the commander-in-chief of the Malawian Defence Force.

  Denotes Vice President acting as President

President			Term of office			Political party (at time of election)
№	Portrait	Name	Took Office	Left Office	Duration
1		Hastings Banda (1898–1997)	6 July 1966	21 May 1994	27 years, 319 days	Malawi Congress Party
2		Bakili Muluzi (1943–)	21 May 1994	24 May 2004	10 years, 3 days	United Democratic Front
		Bingu wa Mutharika (1934–2012)	24 May 2004	1 February 2005	7 years, 317 days	United Democratic Front
3
			1 February 2005	5 April 2012 (Died in Office)		Democratic Progressive Party
4		Joyce Banda (1950–)	7 April 2012	31 May 2014	2 years, 54 days	People's Party
5		Peter Mutharika (1940–)	31 May 2014	Incumbent	(as of 20 April 2024)	Democratic Progressive Party

Living former heads of state

Name	Term/Reign	Office	Date of birth
Elizabeth II	1964–1966	Queen of Malawi	(1926-04-21) April 21, 1926
Bakili Muluzi	1994–2004	President of Malawi	(1943-03-17) March 17, 1943
Joyce Banda	2012–2014	President of Malawi	(1950-04-12) April 12, 1950

External links

• World Statesmen – Malawi
• Rulers.org – Malawi