Bakili Muluzi

Muluzi was born on 17 March 1943 at Machinga, in what was then Nyasaland. ^{1 2} He served in Banda's government in various ministerial portfolios, including minister without portfolio, and as secretary general of the Malawi Congress Party for years, until he was dismissed for abusing party funds; he retired from government in 1980. He came to lead the United Democratic Front (UDF) after leaving the Banda government and became an advocate for democracy. ¹

Muluzi was the UDF candidate in the May 1994 presidential election, Malawi's first multiparty election. He won with 47 percent of the vote against Hastings Kamuzu Banda — with no provision for a runoff, that was enough to end Banda's 33-year rule. ¹ He was re-elected in June 1999 with 52.4 percent of the vote, defeating Gwanda Chakuamba. ^{1 2} In 2002 he proposed a constitutional amendment that would have let him run for a third term, but abandoned it in the face of demonstrations and vigorous opposition from the legislature and courts. After the May 2004 election he handed over power to Bingu wa Mutharika, the UDF candidate he had handpicked and groomed. ¹

His presidency was marred by the sale of Malawi's maize reserves to other countries shortly before the onset of a drought, which resulted in famine throughout the country. Despite international pressure, the millions of dollars realised from the sale were never turned over, and it is widely suspected that they wound up in foreign accounts belonging to Muluzi and his supporters. ¹

Muluzi remained chairman of the UDF after leaving office. His successor Mutharika left the UDF and formed the Democratic Progressive Party in February 2005, and in April 2005 Muluzi apologised to Malawians for choosing Mutharika as his successor "and imposing him on the country". ¹

On 27 July 2006 Muluzi was arrested on fraud and corruption charges and released on bail the same day; the director of public prosecutions dropped the charges. ^{1 2} In May 2008, after eight of his associates were arrested over an alleged plot to overthrow Mutharika, Muluzi himself was arrested at Lilongwe airport on his return from the United Kingdom, held under house arrest at his home in Limbe, and granted bail on 30 May, the judge holding that in the absence of charges he had to be released. ¹ He was arrested again on 26 February 2009 and initially charged with 86 counts of corruption and abuse of office, accused of diverting 1.7 billion Malawi kwacha (about US$11 million) of donor money into his personal account. ¹

A UDF convention in April 2008 had chosen Muluzi as the party's 2009 presidential candidate, but the Malawi Electoral Commission barred him from running a third time, and on 16 May 2009 the Constitutional Court ruled that he could not run again. ^{1 2} On 23 December 2009 he announced his retirement from active politics, with Friday Jumbe replacing him as UDF leader. ¹ As a former Commonwealth leader he chaired the Commonwealth Observer Group for the 2012 Lesotho general election, and in July 2014 he was appointed Special Commonwealth Envoy to Swaziland. ¹

Muluzi was married to Annie Chidzira Muluzi and then to Patricia Shanil Muluzi, and has seven children, among them Atupele Muluzi. ¹

No source names a religious school for Muluzi. The English article's text calls him "Malawi's first Muslim president" — an attestation of Muslim identity that names no school — and the Arabic article's text is silent on religion, carrying only the category filing; Wikidata gives his religion as Islam with no branch. ^{1 2 3} His faith is therefore recorded as unknown.

He succeeded Hastings Banda as president and was succeeded by Bingu wa Mutharika; neither man has a record in the museum, so no succession relations are written. His son Atupele's record, built in the same batch, carries the parentage edge. ¹

• ²
• ¹
• ³