History and Government

History

Malawi is a small country in southeastern Africa and is known for its natural beauty and its warm, hard-working people.  The first significant Western contact began with the arrival of David Livingstone in 1859.  Fiery sunlight glittering from Lake Nyasa gave the name "Malawi" - land of flaming waters - to an ancient Bantu empire.  Present-day descendants revived the name when what had once been the British Protectorate of Nyasaland became independent in 1963.

The country is considered something of a success story in African political development.  In 1994, after 30 years of one-party, dictatorial rule dating back to independence from Britain, Malawi quietly and peacefully elected a new government committed to multi-party democracy.  In spite of the wave of euphoria over their newly won freedom, the Malawian people continue to face the obstacles of poverty, drought, environmental degredation, hunger, disease, rising crime, and illiteracy on their path to social, political, and economic reform.

Government

Malawi has a parlimentary style of government with the president as the head of state.  The president has many powers and sets the agenda for parlimentary debate.  Peaceful presidential elections were held in 1999 and again in 2004, when the current president, Bingu wa Mutharika, was elected.  The national government still centrally manages most issues, although strides have been made toward a decentralization of power and greater control at the local level.

Two parties currently dominate the political landscape.  President Mutharika's party is the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which split off from the United Democratic Front (UDF), the party of former President Bakili Muluzi.  The Malawi Congress Party (MCP), the party of power during the 30-year authoritarian rule of former President Hastings Banda, is also still very much an active player.  The capital has been located in Lilongwe since the mid-1970s.  Some governmental entities still remain in the southern town of Zomba, the former capital.  With the move of the capital, all ministeries, embassies, and support structures for government shifted, so buildings and facilities in Lilongwe are relatively new.  Lilongwe has grown tremendously following the move, with a population of roughly 500,000 people.