Atupele Muluzi (born 6 August 1978) is a

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

an politician, businessman and was a Member of Parliament for Machinga North East constituency from 2004 until May 27, 2019. He is also the President of the United Democratic Front and was a presidential candidate during the 2019 election. He was a running mate in the 2020 presidential elections, on a coalition ticket with incumbent President

Peter Mutharika Arthur Peter Mutharika (born 18 July 1940) is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, inter ...

of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...

. Muluzi was Minister of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining from 2014 to 2015 and the only opposition member to serve in the Mutharika administration. Subsequently, he served as Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security in 2015, and then Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development in 2015. He is currently Minister of Health. He is the son of former president

Bakili Muluzi Elson Bakili Muluzi (born March 17, 1943 in Machinga, Nyasaland) is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected president of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded ...

Early life

Muluzi was born in 1978 at

Kamuzu Central Hospital Kamuzu Central Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital in the city of Lilongwe, (capital of Malawi). It is estimated to have 780 beds, although the true number of patients always exceeds the number of beds. It serves approximately 5 million pe ...

in Lilongwe to

and Annie Chidzira Muluzi. He attended Eastridge (in Harare, Zimbabwe),

Saint Andrews International High School St. Andrew's International School in Blantyre, Malawi, was founded 1938 by the Church of Scotland Mission in Blantyre. The high school in its present form was established in 1958. SAIntS is a British International School offering (i) GCSE, A Le ...

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

and

Bentham Grammar School Bentham Grammar School was an independent school in Bentham, North Yorkshire, England. The school was founded in 1726 but closed in 2002 due to dwindling pupil numbers. History Bentham Grammar School was founded as a charity in 1726 in the vil ...

in Yorkshire, England (since absorbed by

Sedbergh School Sedbergh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the town of Sedbergh in Cumbria, in North West England. It comprises a junior school for children aged 4 to 13 and the main school for 13 to 18 year olds. It w ...

) where he became its head boy. He studied Economics and Law at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

, and at the University of Law in London, United Kingdom.

Political career

He was first elected to parliament in 2004 and continued to represent the Machinga North East constituency until May 27, 2019, when he lost elections as MP and presidential candidate. He campaigned on a new beginning. A fierce critic of President

Bingu wa Mutharika 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 in April 2012. He was also President of the Democ ...

, he was arrested on 20 February 2012 on his way to a political rally where he was expected to address supporters. He was stopped by the police at a road block, where he was questioned and told that he did not have proper permits to hold a public meeting. However permission had been granted prior to the meeting.Malawi: Ex-President's Son Arrested After Unrest
allAfrica.com (20 March 2012). Muluzi was later arrested for inciting violence and charged for disobeying notification of a district commissioner. The police attacked the crowds, throwing teargas at them to disperse the rally. This incited the crowd to protest against the police and burn down a police station and surrounding police cars. Less than two weeks after Muluzi's release, President Mutharika died. President

Joyce Banda Joyce Hilda Banda (née Ntila; born 12 April 1950) is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. She is the ...

took over the reins of power and appointed Muluzi as Minister of Economic Planning and Development in her administration. He resigned after some senior members of the ruling party verbally attacked him at a political rally due to his position as the leader of an opposition party. After resigning, he began to focus on his career as the leader of his party. In June 2014, Muluzi was appointed by President

as Minister of Natural Resources, Energy, and Mining. He was moved to the post of Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security on 10 April 2015. He was again moved, this time to the post of Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, in August 2015. After a court decision overturned the 2019 presidential election in Malawi, Muluzi formed a coalition with President Mutharika to be his running mate in the 2020 presidential elections.

Personal life

He is the son of

, Malawi's second President, and Annie Chidzira Muluzi, Malawi's former

first lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

. In November 2013, he married Angela Zachepa and they have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muluzi, Atupele 1978 births Living people Malawian Muslims Alumni of the University of Leicester Government ministers of Malawi Members of the National Assembly (Malawi) United Democratic Front (Malawi) politicians Alumni of Saint Andrews International High School People from Lilongwe Children of national leaders People educated at Sedbergh School