Lazarus Chakwera

Lazarus Chakwera was born in Lilongwe, the current capital of Malawi, on 5 April 1955[3] when the country was still under British colonial rule.[4] His family were subsistence farmers in the city's outskirts.[5] He is married to Monica and together, they have four children and grandchildren.[6]

Chakwera graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy) Degree from the University of Malawi in 1977. He studied theology and gained an Honours degree from the University of the North in South Africa and gained a master's degree (MTh) from the University of South Africa in 1991.[6] The Trinity International University in the United States awarded him a doctorate (D. Min) in 2000. He became a professor at the Pan-Africa Theological Seminary in 2005.[4]

He worked as an instructor at the Assemblies of God's School of Theology from 1983 to 2000 where he became the Principal in 1996. He has been the co-director and a lecturer at All Nations Theological Seminary.[7] From 1989 to 2013 he presided over the Malawi Assemblies of God.[7] On 14 April 2013 he took many by surprise when he declared his intentions to run at a convention of the opposition Malawi Congress Party (MCP) as president while still maintaining the Assemblies of God Presidency.[8]

Rumours of Chakwera's intention to run in the MCP's presidential race were first reported in online media on 9 April 2013.[9] They were confirmed on 14 April 2013.[8] Chakwera later submitted his nomination papers while still at the helm of the Malawi Assemblies of God.[10] The MCP convention slated for 27 April 2013 was later postponed[11] to 10 and 11 August where he was elected as the president of MCP and he represented the party in the 2014 general election. During 2014 Malawi General elections, rumors speculated in different platforms that the elections were rigged. Chakwera addressed all Malawians to remain peaceful, accept the outcome, and wait for the next coming elections. Besides being successful as the main opposition party president, he also served as a member of parliament for the Lilongwe North West Constituency.

Chakwera announced his resignation as the Head of the Malawian Assemblies of God, effective 14 May 2013.[12] He said this would enable him to concentrate more on front-line politics, taking the view that he was still serving God in another context.[12] Chakwera joined forces with UTM leader Saulos Chilima and multiple other parties to form the 'Tonse Alliance' in preparation for the June 2020 Malawi General elections, with Chilima running as Vice President.[13] This happened when Court ruled out the 2019 General elections due to massive irregularities after DPP claimed victory.

Chakwera defeated incumbent president Peter Mutharika in the 2020 election, having obtained almost 59% of the vote. Chakwera was sworn in as the sixth president of Malawi on 28 June. On this occasion, Malawi made history as the first African country to have its presidential election result overturned due to irregularities and an opposition leader went on to win the rerun election.[1]