Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Institute of Commonwealth Studies
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Malawi, formerly Nyasaland, became independent in 1964 under the government of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) led by Hastings Kamuzu Banda. Banda was to rule the country for the next thirty years, presiding over the transition to republic status in 1966 and appointing himself president for life in 1971. Violent protests against the governing party in 1992 following a severe drought led to a referendum the following year which paved the way for the end of one-party rule, and Banda lost the 1994 election to Bakili Muluzi.