Hastings Banda
Hastings Kamuzu Banda (c. 1898 – 25 November 1997) was the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was a Dominion / Commonwealth realm). In 1966, the country became a republic and he became the first president as a result, ruling until his defeat in 1994.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda | |
|---|---|
| 1st President of Malawi | |
| In office 6 July 1966 – 24 May 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth II as Queen of Malawi |
| Succeeded by | Bakili Muluzi |
| Prime Minister of Malawi | |
| In office 6 July 1964 – 6 July 1966 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor‑General | Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones |
| Preceded by | Post established |
| Succeeded by | Himself as President |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Akim Kamnkhwala Mtunthama Banda c. 1898 Kasungu, British Central Africa (now Kasungu, Malawi) |
| Died | 25 November 1997 (aged 98–99) Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Political party | Malawi Congress Party |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago Central State University Indiana University Meharry Medical College University of Edinburgh |
| Religion | Presbyterian (Church of Scotland) |
After receiving much of his education in ethnography, linguistics, history, and medicine overseas, Banda returned to Nyasaland to speak against colonialism and advocate independence from the United Kingdom. He was formally appointed Prime Minister of Nyasaland, and led the country to independence in 1964.
Two years later, he proclaimed Malawi a republic with himself as the first president. He consolidated power and later declared Malawi a one-party state under the Malawi Congress Party (MCP). In 1970, the MCP made him the party's President for Life. In 1971, he became president for Life of Malawi itself. A renowned anti-communist leader in Africa, he received support from the Western Bloc during the Cold War. He generally supported women's rights, improved the country's infrastructure and barely maintained a good educational system relative to other African countries. However, he presided over one of the most repressive regimes in Africa, an era that saw political opponents regularly tortured and murdered. Human rights groups estimate that at least 6,000 people were killed, tortured and jailed without trial. As many as 18,000 people were killed during his rule, according to one estimate. His rule has been characterised as a "highly repressive autocracy." He received criticism for maintaining full diplomatic relations with the apartheid government in South Africa.
By 1993, amid increasing domestic and international pressure, he agreed to hold a referendum which ended the one-party system. Soon afterwards, a special assembly ended his life-term presidency and stripped him of most of his powers. Banda ran for president in the democratic elections that followed and was defeated. He died in South Africa on 25 November 1997.