President of Malawi

The President of the Republic of Malawi is the head of state and head of government of Malawi. The president leads the executive branch of the Government of Malawi and is the commander-in-chief of the Malawian Defence Force.

President of the Republic of Malawi Mtsogoleri wa Dziko la Malawi (in Chichewa)
Presidential Standard
Incumbent Lazarus Chakwera since 28 June 2020
Executive branch of the Malawian Government
Style	His Excellency (formal)
Member of	Cabinet
Seat	Lilongwe
Term length	Five years, renewable once consecutively
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Malawi
Formation	6 July 1966
First holder	Hastings Banda
Deputy	Vice President of Malawi
Salary	US$ 42,000 p.a.[1]
Website	www.statehouse.mw

Monarch (1964–1966)

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

No.	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign			Royal House	Prime Minister
			Reign start	Reign end	Time in office
1	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)		6 July 1964	6 July 1966	2 years	Windsor	Banda

Governor-General

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

No.	Governor-General (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure			Monarch	Prime Minister
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	Sir Glyn Jones (1908–1992)		6 July 1964	6 July 1966	2 years	Elizabeth II	Banda

List of presidents

  Denotes Vice-President acting as President

No.	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
			Took office	Left office
1	Hastings Banda (1898–1997) [2]		6 July 1966	21 May 1994			Malawi Congress Party
2	Bakili Muluzi (1943–)		21 May 1994	24 May 2004	1994 1999		United Democratic Front
3	Bingu wa Mutharika (1934–2012)		24 May 2004	5 April 2012 (died in office.)	2004		United Democratic Front
					2009		Democratic Progressive Party [3]
4	Joyce Banda (1950–)		7 April 2012	31 May 2014	–		People's Party
5	Peter Mutharika (1940–)		31 May 2014	28 June 2020	2014, 2019		Democratic Progressive Party
6	Lazarus Chakwera (1955–)		28 June 2020	Incumbent	2020		Malawi Congress Party