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12 Things You Didn’t Know About Malawi’s Education President, Peter Mutharika

12 Things You Didn’t Know About Malawi’s Education President, Peter Mutharika

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Malawi President Peter Mutharika is coming up on his first year anniversary in office, but his record of public service stretches far beyond that. An academic and expert on international law and justice, Mutharika has played a role in Malawi politics for years. The leader of the Democratic Progressive Party, he was elected into office in May 2014, defeating incumbent President Joyce Banda, who was representing the People’s Party. Here are 12 things you didn’t know about Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika.

Sources: FaceofMalawi.com, BBC.com, Law.WUSTL.edu, MalawiDigest.Blogspot.com, Law.WUSTL.edu, AfricasaCountry.com

3News.co.nz
3News.co.nz

Mutharika received his education in a multitude of countries

Mutharika received his law degree in 1965 from the University of London, and then proceeded to earn his LL.M and JSD degrees from Yale University in the United States in 1966 and 1969 respectively.

AfricaResearchInstitute.org
AfricaResearchInstitute.org

He spent the bulk of his early career teaching at the university level

Continuing his commitment to academia, he spent time teaching at universities across the world – first at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and later at Haile Selassie University (Ethiopia), Rutgers University (U.S.), Makerere University (Uganda), and Washington University (U.S.). It was at Washington University that Mutharika committed the most time, spending 39 years there teaching law, along with a brief stint as an Academic Visitor at the London School of Economics in the UK.

OrakoNews.com
OrakoNews.com

Mutharika was tasked with handling Malawi’s controversial academic freedom standoff

Mutharika was serving as Minister of Education in 2011, when conflict between lecturers at the University of Malawi and the police sparked campus-wide protests over academic freedoms. Several lecturers were sacked as a result of the conflict, and students began protesting in support of them. Many criticized Mutharika’s handling of the controversy, or lack thereof, as the protests ended up closing two of the university’s colleges. Mutharika was moved to Minister of Foreign Affairs several months later, removing himself from the situation.

FaceofMalawi.com
FaceofMalawi.com

Mutharika received the 2008 International Jurist Award

In 2008, Mutharika was awarded the International Jurist Award by the International Council of Jurists for his “unique contribution in the field of legal education.” This was in reference to his work as a professor of international and comparative law, as well as his work on legal reform in developing countries and service in Malawi.

Source: Law.WUSTL.edu

NewsNextBD.com
NewsNextBD.com

He served as an informal advisor to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika

Mutharika served as an informal advisor to his brother, then-President Bingu wa Mutharika from the beginning of his re-election campaign in 2009 until his death in April 2012. The younger Mutharika advised his brother on issues related to both foreign and domestic policy.

NehandaRadio.com
NehandaRadio.com

Mutharika was tasked with repairing relations between Malawi and the UK

After a falling out over the Chocrane-Dyet controversy (in which a telegram was leaked from then-High Commissioner for the UK to Malawi, Fergus Cochrane-Dyet, calling Bingu wa Mutharika “more autocratic and intolerant of criticism,” and resulting in his expulsion from Malawi – and then the subsequent expulsion of Malawi’s acting high commissioner, Flossie Chidyaonga, from the UK and the cutting off of British aid), Mutharika’s appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2011 was especially important. He was tasked with repairing relations with the United Kingdom, as the diplomatic relations between the two countries was severely deteriorated after the controversy.

FaceofMalawi.com
FaceofMalawi.com

He was forced to resign his position as arbitrator on an international court case against the Zimbabwean government

In August 2011, Mutharika was serving as a part of a three-man tribunal with the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. He was forced to resign his post as arbitrator on two international court cases that involved foreign investors suing Mugabe’s administration in Zimbabwe for breaches of bilateral investment treaties, as many claimed he would be unable to remain impartial given his brother’s close relations with the Mugabe government.

GlobalVoicesOnline.org
GlobalVoicesOnline.org

Mutharika’s candidacy for president was called into question amid controversy over his Malawian citizenship

Given the amount of time that Mutharika spent living and working in the United States, many believed that he had obtained US citizenship during that time, and had thus been forced to renounce his Malawian citizenship (Malawi’s laws do not allow for dual citizenship). However, documents were made available by American embassies that proved Mutharika had never sought citizenship, and had just remained a green card holder during his stint in the country. Mutharika relinquished his green card and permanent resident status in the US in February 2014, as he would be unable to meet the requirements to keep them by spending a minimum of three months in the country each year as president of Malawi.

VoaNews.com
VoaNews.com

Mutharika was accused of treason in March 2013, a claim he has always denied

Following his brother’s death in 2012, Mutharika was accused of asking the military to take over the government – according to the official inquiry that levied the accusation, the military refused, and then-Vice President Joyce Banda assumed the presidency. Mutharika allegedly supported a measure that would have bypassed the constitutional provision that would provide for Banda’s succession to the presidency, opening the way for him to become President as the appointed new president of his and his late brother’s party, the DPP.

BBC.co.uk
BBC.co.uk

He was the first candidate to defeat a sitting president in Malawi

After winning the 2014 presidential election, Mutharika became the first person to defeat a sitting president in his/her bid for reelection. Much of Mutharika’s platform involved cutting down on corruption in Malawi, especially in light of “Cashgate” – the huge corruption scandal that occurred during Banda’s tenure, and caused many international donors to cut aid to Malawi. Mutharika was able to be sworn in as Malawi’s president after the High Court rejected Banda’s request for a recount amid allegations of vote rigging.

VOAnews.com
VOAnews.com

He is a widower

Mutharika was married to Christophine, a Catholic woman from the Caribbean, and fathered two daughters and a son with her. She has since passed away, and Mutharika did not remarry for a long time – fueling rumors from his opponents that he might be gay. He has since remarried, this time to his long-time partner Gertrude Maseko, a member of the National Assembly for the DPP between 2009 and 2014, in June 2014.

DW.de
DW.de

Mutharika supporters diversifying Malawi’s economy

Malawi’s status as one of the world’s poorest countries has contributed to its heavy dependence on foreign aid – nearly 40 percent of the government’s budget is derived from foreign aid. Since his assumption of the presidency, Mutharika has renewed his commitment to diversification in an attempt to strengthen the Malawi’s economy – one that had previously relied heavily on tobacco production.