Malawian politician
Catherine Gotani Hara is a Malawian politician who has been the Speaker of the National Assembly since June 2019, the first woman to hold the position.
Early life and education
Gotani Hara attended Kamuzu Academy,[1] and has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Chancellor College at the University of Malawi.[2][3] While studying, she ran the university's wing of the Malawi Congress Party.[1] From 1998 to 2000, she completed professional postgraduate training in International Development and Project Planning and Management Brighton.[1][4][2][3][5]
Career
Gotani Hara was a Programme Officer for the UK's Department of International Development,[4] the first Malawian to be recruited to that level.[3] She was responsible for the sustainable livelihood projects for both Mozambique and Malawi.[3]
Gotani Hara was elected as the Member of Parliament for Mzimba North East[6] in 2009, representing the Democratic Progressive Party.[4]
Gotani Hara was the Deputy Minister of Transport and Public Infrastructure,[7] Deputy Minister for Gender,[5] and the Minister for Health in the Joyce Banda government.[2][8] She represented the Malawi Head of State at a number of international events, and was the Chair of the Malawi delegation to the Climate Change Summit in Brazil.[1] She is a board member of the Northern Region Water Board.[1] After the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika in 2012, she publicly declared that it unconstitutional for members in the ruling DPP politburo to take over the presidency.[9] She took a break from politics from 2014 to 2019.[9]
Gotani Hara was re-elected in May 2019 representing Malawi Congress Party and on 19 June 2019, she was elected the first female Speaker of the National Assembly,[3] with 97 votes to 93 over former deputy speaker Esther Mcheka Chilenje.[4][10]
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