Hastings Banda

Ngwazi

Hastings Kamuzu Banda
1st President of Malawi
In office
6 July 1966 – 24 May 1994
Preceded byElizabeth II
as Queen of Malawi
Succeeded byBakili Muluzi
Prime Minister of Malawi
In office
6 July 1964 – 6 July 1966
Governor-GeneralSir Glyn Smallwood Jones
Preceded byPost created
Succeeded byHimself as President
Personal details
Born(1898-02-15)15 February 1898 or 14 May 1898
Kasungu, British Central Africa Protectorate
Died25 November 1997(1997-11-25) (aged 99)
South Africa
Political partyMalawi Congress Party

Hastings Kamuzu Banda (15 February 1898[1][2][3][4] or 14 May 1898[5] – 25 November 1997),[6] was the leader of Malawi from 1961 to 1994.

Education

Banda attended school in the United States. In 1928 he graduated from the school that is now Central State University in Ohio. Next he attended Indiana University as a premedical student. After four semesters he transferred to the University of Chicago. He graduated in 1931. Banda then studied medicine at Meharry Medical College in Tennessee.

Banda was required to get a second medical degree in order to practice medicine in the British Empire. He attended the University of Edinburgh. Between 1941 and 1945, he worked as a doctor in North Shields.

Malawi

In 1946 he represented the Nyasaland African Congress at the fifth Pan African Congress in Manchester. He began to take more interest in home country.

Banda was against the efforts of Sir Roy Welensky. Welensky wanted to form a federation between Southern and Northern Rhodesia with Nyasaland (Malawi).

In 1951 he moved to the Gold Coast in West Africa. Banda finally returned to Nyasaland on 6 July 1958. In August he was named as the leader of the Congress. He spoke against colonialism and for independence. In 1963, he was formally made Nyasaland’s prime minister.[7] On 6 July 1964, Nyasaland became the independent Commonwealth of Malawi. When he swept to power as the first President of Malawi in 1966 he called himself "Ngwazi", which means conqueror, and after a few years declared himself "Life President".[8]

Malawi became 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.

References

  1. ↑ "In Memoriam, When Nelson Mandela met Hastings Kamuzu Banda - Malawi Page". Archived from the original on 2019-06-26. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  2. ↑ "Historical Context for Hip Hop Store in Malawi". www.nathanielturner.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-17. Retrieved 2018-03-30.
  3. ↑ Simfukwe, Meekness (14 May 2015). "Family, nation celebrate Kamuzu's life". Archived from the original on 2 July 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "MCP, family celebrate Kamuzu's life: Chakwera to champion for rebuilding of party headquarters". Malawi Nyasa Times - Malawi breaking news in Malawi. 5 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Obituary: Dr Hastings Banda". The Independent. 1997-11-27. Retrieved 2023-01-28.
  6. ↑ "Brief biography: Dr Hastings Banda". 8 November 2016. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  7. ↑ "Hastings Kamuzu Banda". Britannica. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "Obituary: Dr Hastings Banda". The Independent. 27 November 1997. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2019.