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.

№	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Reign		Royal House	Prime Minister
			Reign start	Reign end
1	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–)		6 July 1964	6 July 1966	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

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

  Denotes Vice-President acting as President

№	President (Birth–Death)	Portrait	Tenure		Elected	Political affiliation (at time of appointment)
			Took office	Left office
1	Hastings Banda (1898–1997)		6 July 1966	21 May 1994	1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992	style="background: Template:Malawi Congress Party/meta/color;" |	Malawi Congress Party
2	Bakili Muluzi (1943–)		21 May 1994	24 May 2004	1994, 1999	style="background: Template:United Democratic Front (Malawi)/meta/color;" |	United Democratic Front
3	Bingu wa Mutharika (1934–2012)		24 May 2004	5 April 2012 (died in office.)	2004	style="background: Template:United Democratic Front (Malawi)/meta/color;" |	United Democratic Front
					2009	style="background: Template:Democratic Progressive Party (Malawi)/meta/color;" |	Democratic Progressive Party
4	Joyce Banda (1950–)		7 April 2012	31 May 2014	–	style="background: Template:People's Party (Malawi)/meta/color;" |	People's Party
5	Peter Mutharika (1940–)		31 May 2014		2014	style="background: Template:Democratic Progressive Party (Malawi)/meta/color;" |	Democratic Progressive Party

Standards

• 
  Governor-General's Standard
• 
  Presidental Standard

Living former heads of state

There are three living former Malawian Heads of State:

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

External links

• World Statesmen – Malawi
• Rulers.org – Malawi