Head of state and government
VerifiedThe government portal states that he was elected on 16 September 2025 and sworn in on 4 October 2025 at Kamuzu Stadium, Blantyre. Wikipedia describes this as his second inauguration as President.
The government portal names the President and both Vice-Presidents but lists ministries without their ministers (and its ministry list predates the January 2026 reshuffle), and the Office of the President and Cabinet site (opc.gov.mw) is under construction, so every minister is sourced, not verified. The list follows Wikipedia's Cabinet of Malawi table (changes up to 29 May 2026) checked against the Chief Secretary's January 2026 list as published by the Zambian Observer and later press reports; no cabinet change after 29 May 2026 was found. Spellings vary between sources: Mwanamvekha or Mwanamveka, Roza Fachi or Fatch Mbilizi, Patricia Wiskies or Wiskes. Wikipedia's 2026 page records no ministerial departures in 2026 up to its last edit on 19 September 2026. Party affiliations of ministers were not confirmed and are left out.
- Head of state and government
- Peter MutharikaPresident of the Republic
- Government
- Government of Peter MutharikaSince 4 Oct 2025
- System
- Presidential republicCapital: Lilongwe
- UN e-government rank
- 163 of 193EGDI 2024
Malawi is a presidential republic[1]. The President of the Republic, Peter Mutharika, is both head of state and head of government[3][4][5]. Govpedia records 22 members of its cabinet.
At a glance[2]
- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Region
- Eastern Africa
- Area
- 118,484 km²
- Languages
- English, Chewa
- Currency
- Malawian kwacha (MK)
- People
- Malawian
- Borders
- Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia
- Calling code
- +265
- Internet domain
- .mw
Leadership
Who leads the state
Executive
Government of Peter Mutharika
3 of 22 verified on official pages
In Malawi's presidential system the President leads both the state and the government. The Cabinet comprises the President, the Vice-Presidents and the Ministers; deputy ministers are not listed here. Dates are the start of each minister’s current term in this government.
Digital government
Digital government, measured
UN E-Government Development Index[13]
2024
0.375rank 163 of 193
- Online services0.462
- Human capital0.475
- Telecom infrastructure0.189
Record of changes
Timeline
29 May 2026
The Ministry of Energy and Mining is split: Jean Mathanga becomes Minister of Energy and Thoko Tembo, until then Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Mining.[6][11]
Sourced30 Jan 2026
Simon Itaye becomes Minister of Industrialisation, Business, Trade and Tourism, replacing George Partridge, who became Governor of the Reserve Bank of Malawi; Alfred Gangata and Patricia Wiskies swap the Natural Resources and Youth, Sports and Culture portfolios.[6][10]
Sourced5 Jan 2026
First cabinet reshuffle: the Ministry of State is abolished, the Cabinet grows from 24 to 28 members, Feston Kaupa moves from Transport to Defence, Jappie Mhango becomes Minister of Transport and Alfred Gangata Minister of Natural Resources.[6][8][9][12]
Sourced5 Oct 2025
President Mutharika appoints a partial cabinet; further ministers are appointed on 16 October and the full Cabinet is completed on 30 October 2025.[6]
Sourced4 Oct 2025
Peter Mutharika (DPP), elected in the 16 September 2025 election, is sworn in as President, succeeding Lazarus Chakwera.[3][5]
Verified
Evidence
Sources
- [1]List of countries by system of government
WikipediaReferenceChecked 12 Oct 2026
- [2]World countries in JSON (mledoze/countries)
Mohammed Le Doze and contributors (ODbL)ReferenceChecked 1 Nov 2026
- [3]The Executive
Government of Malawi (malawi.gov.mw)OfficialChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [4]List of current heads of state and government
WikipediaReferenceChecked 12 Oct 2026
- [5]Peter Mutharika
WikipediaReferenceChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [6]Cabinet of Malawi
WikipediaReferenceChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [7]Malawi Government portal
Government of Malawi (malawi.gov.mw)OfficialChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [8]President Mutharika Reshuffles Cabinet, Abolishes Minister of State Position
Zambian ObserverNewsChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [9]Malawi: President Mutharika Abolishes Ministry of State in First Cabinet Reshuffle
Pan African VisionsNewsChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [10]Private Sector Veteran Simon Itaye Joins Cabinet in Mutharika Reshuffle
Nyasa TimesNewsChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [11]Ministerial split draws mixed reactions
The Nation (Malawi)NewsChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [12]2026 in Malawi
WikipediaReferenceChecked 16 Oct 2026
- [13]UN E-Government Survey 2024: country data
United Nations DESADatasetChecked 12 Oct 2026