Lazarus Chakwera | |
|---|---|
 Chakwera in 2021 | |
| 6th President of Malawi | |
| In office 28 June 2020 – 4 October 2025 | |
| Vice President | Saulos Chilima (2020–2024) Michael Usi (2024–2025) |
| Preceded by | Peter Mutharika |
| Succeeded by | Peter Mutharika |
| President of the Malawi Congress Party | |
| Assumed office 11 August 2013 | |
| Preceded by | John Tembo |
| Minister of Defense | |
| In office 28 June 2020 – 31 January 2023[citation needed] | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Peter Mutharika |
| Succeeded by | Harry Mkandawire |
| Member of the National Assembly forLilongwe North West | |
| In office 20 May 2014 – 23 June 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Ishmail Fillimon Chafukira |
| Succeeded by | Boti Phiri |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (1955-04-05)5 April 1955 (age 70) |
| Political party | Malawi Congress Party |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | University of Malawi University of the North University of South Africa Trinity International University |
Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera (born 5 April 1955) is a Malawian politician, theologian, and pastor who served as the sixthpresident of Malawi from 2020 to 2025. A member of theMalawi Congress Party (MCP), he has served as the party's president since 2013. He also served as President of the MalawianAssemblies of God from 1989 to 2013, and during his presidency concurrently served as Minister of Defense from 2020 to 2023.
Born inLilongwe, Chakwera graduated from theUniversity of Malawi in 1977 with abachelor's degree in arts and philosophy. He then joined the MalawianAssemblies of God's School of Theology in 1983 where he became its president in 1996 and served in this role until 2000. During this time, Chakwera became the president of the Malawian Assemblies of God in 1989 and served in this role until his resignation 2013, when he entered politics and joined the Malawi Congress Party and was elected as the party's leader in August of that year. In thepresidential election held the following year, Chakwera ran for the presidency, but while getting more votes than incumbentJoyce Banda, he lost to theDemocratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s presidential candidatePeter Mutharika. In the2019 presidential election, Chakwera lost again to Mutharika. However, in February 2020, the Constitutional Court annulled the election results citing irregularities and arerun election was held, where Chakwera won.
During his presidency, Chakwera implemented governance and education reforms, improved international engagement, and made efforts to increase transparency. He builds moreschools, especially inrural areas and also improved someinfrastructure in the country. However, Chakwera's presidency was overshadowed by economic challenges such as high inflation, risingcost of living,currency devaluation, and growingpublic debt. Despite his anti-corruption stance, Chakwera also faced criticism overcorruption andnepotism, which he promises to fight when coming to office. Chakwera appointed relatives to hiscabinet and also appointed people related to some members of his cabinet. Several protests also occurred during Chakwera's presidency, in July and October 2022 and 2024, all of which were against Chakwera and his government's slow handling of corruption cases and as well as the cost of living. In some of these peacefuldemonstrations, protesters were attacked by masked, machete-wielding men, an incident condemned by rights groups and foreign missions.[1][2] As a result of the economic crisis and the slow handling of corruption cases and as well as nepotism, Chakwera lost the2025 presidential election to Mutharika.
Lazarus Chakwera was born inMalembo, Lilongwe, near the capital city ofMalawi, on 5 April 1955 while the country was stillunder British colonial rule.[3][4] His father was a primary school teacher and supplemented his family's income through subsistence farming.[5]
Lazarus married Monica Chakwera on 8 October 1977, and they have four children (one son and three daughters).[6]
Chakwera graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) Degree from theUniversity of Malawi in 1977. He studied theology and gained an Honours degree from theUniversity of the North inSouth Africa and gained a master's degree (MTh) from theUniversity of South Africa in 1991.[6]Trinity International University in the United States awarded him a doctorate (D.Min) in 2000. He became a professor at the Pan-Africa Theological Seminary in 2005.[4]
He worked as an instructor at theAssemblies of God's School of Theology from 1983 to 2000, where he became the principal in 1996. He has been the co-director and a lecturer at All Nations Theological Seminary.[7] From 1989 to 2013 he presided over the Malawi Assemblies of God.[7] On 14 April 2013, he took many by surprise when he declared his intentions to run at a convention of the oppositionMalawi Congress Party (MCP) as president while still maintaining the Assemblies of God Presidency.[8]
Rumours of Chakwera's intention to run in the MCP's presidential race were first reported in online media on 9 April 2013.[9] They were confirmed on 14 April 2013.[8] Chakwera later submitted his nomination papers while still at the helm of the Malawi Assemblies of God.[10] The MCP convention slated for 27 April 2013 was later postponed[11] to 10 and 11 August where he was elected as the president of MCP and he represented the party in the 2014 general elections. During 2014 Malawi General elections, rumors speculated in different platforms that the elections were rigged. Chakwera told all Malawians to remain peaceful, accept the outcome, and wait for the next coming elections. Besides being successful as the main opposition party president, he also served as a member of parliament for the Lilongwe North West Constituency.
Chakwera announced his resignation as the head of the Malawian Assemblies of God, effective 14 May 2013.[12] He said this would enable him to concentrate more on front-line politics, taking the view that he was stillserving God in another context.[12] Chakwera joined forces with UTM leaderSaulos Chilima and multiple other parties to form theTonse Alliance in preparation for the June 2020 Malawi general elections, with Chilima running as vice president.[13] This happened when court ruled out the 2019 General elections due to massive irregularities after DPP claimed victory.
Chakwera defeated incumbent presidentPeter Mutharika in the2020 election, having obtained almost 59% of the vote.[14] Chakwera was sworn in as the sixthpresident of Malawi on 28 June. On this occasion, Malawi became the first African country to have its presidential election result overturned due to irregularities and an opposition leader go on to win the rerun election. The Republic of Kenya's Supreme Court had been the first to nullify in 2017, but the rerun election therefrom was never won by the opposition leader.[15]
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Soon after Chakwera's election as president, he became subject to criticism over appointing mutually related family members to cabinet. Chakwera's 31 member cabinet announced after inauguration had six members who were relatives with another member of the cabinet.Mo Sidik Mia, Chakwera's running mate in 2019, was appointed minister of transport and public works and his wifeAbida Mia the deputy-Minister for Lands.[16]Kenny Kandodo and his sisterKhumbize Kandodo both occupied ministerial posts, the former being the minister for labour while the latter being the minister for health. Similarly,Gospel Kazako became Minister of Information while his sister-in-law Agnes Nkusa Nkhoma became the deputy-Minister for Agriculture. More than 70% of the cabinet ministers were from the central region of Malawi, Chakwera's traditional stronghold.[17] Chakwera defended his decisions, saying that he would address concerns related to the appointments.[18]
Activists and organisations working on gender equality organised public demonstrations in October 2020 protesting against gender imbalance in public service appointments that Chakwera had made. The activists accused President Chakwera of disregarding the Malawi Gender Equality Act that demands that women should make at least 40 per cent of all public appointments. The activists sued the President over the gender imbalance in his appointments.[19][20][21] The issue is still in court.[when?]
Chakwera stated that he was working to reduce executive powers to enhance presidential accountability to the people and strengthen the authority of other branches of government.[22]
Lazarus Chakwera was elected by member states ofSADC as the chairperson of the group. He was the chairman of theSADC which he assumed from his predecessor, Mozambican PresidentFilipe Nyusi in August 2021.[23]
Chakwera has faced criticism for appointing his daughter and vice presidentSaulos Chilima's mother-in-law to diplomatic positions. The president appointed his daughter Violet Chakwera as a diplomatic secretary to Brussels and for the EU. However, the president vehemently rebutted these reports as baseless[clarification needed] and stated so on a BBC interview during his visit to the UK in 2021. Published media reports indicate that his daughter is not qualified for the job, having obtained her degree from an unaccredited institution.[24][25][26]
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President Chakwera formed a strong and positive relationship with British prime minister Boris Johnson, describing their partnership as "crucial." Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed hope for a long-term UK-Malawi partnership that focused on promoting green technologies in Malawi, and Malawi's government spokesperson and Minister of Information, Gospel Kazako said that Johnson and President Chakwera would discuss "various development, trade and investment deals, which so far has been a great success and Malawi stands to benefit more and better."[27][28] After the2021 Zambian general election in whichEdgar Lungu lost toHakainde Hichilema and then gracefully accepted the results of the election, President Chakwera said: "The pattern of peaceful transitions of power we have been seeing in our region in recent years, ... (with) Zambia being the latest member to embody that, are worthy of global acclaim and our applause."[29]
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On 16 November 2023, Chakwera announced the immediate suspension of all international travel orders for himself and his government to reduce costs following a 44% devaluation of theMalawian Kwacha and an agreement to borrow $174-million from theInternational Monetary Fund to boost the country's ailing economy. He also ordered the immediate return of all ministers currently abroad and a 50% reduction in fuel allowances for senior government officials. Chakwera also ordered a reduction of income tax on individuals to help ease cost-of-living issues.[30]
Chakwera ran for a second term as president in the2025 Malawian general election on 16 September, but lost to his predecessor,Peter Mutharika, who won more than 56% of the vote.[31]
In November 2025, Chakwera was appointed byCommonwealth Secretary-GeneralShirley Botchwey as Special Envoy to support political dialogue inTanzania following itsdisputed election. He undertook a four-day mission meeting government, opposition, civil society, and religious leaders to assess the situation. His appointment drew some criticism from a Tanzanian human rights group questioning his suitability for the role.[32]
In November 2025, Malawi’s civil society group CDEDI argued that Chakwera should not receive former president's privileges, citing governance shortcomings, corruption concerns, and alleged abuses during his administration. The organisation, through its Executive DirectorSylvester Namiwa, also urged international bodies, includingSADC and Commonwealth, to refrain from granting him honorary roles until these issues were addressed.[33]
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| Preceded by | President of Malawi 2020–2025 | Succeeded by |
| Queen (1964–1966) |  | |
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| President (from 1966) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
