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Bingu wa Mutharika

Bingu wa Mutharika
Bingu Wa Mutharika - World Economic Forum on Africa 2008.jpg
President of Malawi
In office
24 May 2004 – 5 April 2012
Vice President
Preceded by Bakili Muluzi
Succeeded by Joyce Banda
8th Chairperson of the African Union
In office
31 January 2010 – 31 January 2011
Preceded by Muammar Gaddafi
Succeeded by Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Personal details
Born Ryson Webster Thom
(1934-02-24)24 February 1934
Thyolo, Nyasaland
Died 5 April 2012(2012-04-05) (aged 78)
Lilongwe, Malawi
Nationality Malawian
Political party DPP (2005–2012)
Other political
affiliations
UDF (Before 2005)
Spouse(s)
Relations Peter Mutharika (brother)
Children 4
Alma mater University of Delhi
California Miramar University
Profession Economist
Religion Roman Catholicism

Bingu wa Mutharika (born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; 24 February 1934 – 5 April 2012) was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election. During his two terms in office he was noted for being the Chairperson of the African Union in 2010–2011, as well as for several domestic controversies. In 2009 he purchased a private presidential jet for $13.26 million. This was followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage which was officially blamed on logistical problems, but was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the freezing of aid by the international community He died of cardiac arrest in Lilongwe while in office on 5 April 2012, at age 78.

Bingu wa Mutharika was born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom on 24 February 1934 in Thyolo. Mutharika's parents, Ryson Thom Mutharika and Eleni Thom Mutharika, were both members of the Church of Scotland Mission which later became Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian. His father was a teacher for 37 years and his mother taught the women of the Mvano group.

Upon completing his primary education at Ulongwe Mission and Chingoli, Mulanje, Ntambanyama, Malamulo, in Thyolo and Henri Henderson Institute in Blantyre, Mutharika obtained a Grade A Cambridge Overseas School Leaving Certificate at Dedza Secondary School in 1956. In 1964, he was one of the 32 Malawians selected by Hastings Kamuzu Banda (President of Malawi 1961–1994) to travel to India on an Indira Gandhi scholarship for 'fast track' diplomas. The BBC reports that he went to India to "escape then President Hastings Banda's crackdown on political opponents". At some point during the 1960s, he also changed his name, to Bingu wa Mutharika. In India, Mutharika earned his bachelor's degree in Economics from the Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi. Subsequently, he attended the Delhi School of Economics graduating with a M.A. degree in Economics. He later obtained a PhD degree in Development Economics from Pacific Western University. Mutharika also completed short courses on Business Management, Financial Analysis, Trade Promotion, Political Leadership, regional Economic Co-operation and Human Relations.


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