Background and career
Elson Bakili Muluzi (born 17 March 1943) is a Malawian politician who was President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi's president. He also served in Banda's cabinet as minister without portfolio, before retiring in 1980.
Muluzi served as a minister in various ministerial portfolios and as secretary general of MCP for years until he was dismissed for abusing MCP party funds.
Muluzi was the candidate of the opposition UDF in the May 1994 presidential election, the country's first multiparty election. He won the election with 47% of the vote, defeating Malawi's leader since independence, Hastings Kamuzu Banda. There was no provision for a runoff election in Malawi, so this was enough for him to end Banda's 33-year rule (dating back to when Malawi was still a British colony called Nyasaland).
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