Prominent women's rights campaigner Joyce Banda was sworn in as Malawi's president on Saturday, becoming southern Africa's first female head of state and raising hopes for a fresh start in the small, poor nation after the death of her mercurial predecessor.
Banda, a 61-year-old policeman's daughter who has won international recognition for championing the education of underprivileged girls, had served as vice president under Bingu wa Mutharika, who died on Thursday following a heart attack. She succeeded him under the terms of the constitution.
Aid-dependent Malawi had slid into economic crisis over the last year, as Mutharika, a professorial but temperamental former World Bank economist, squabbled with major western donors who then froze millions of dollars of assistance. Banda took the oath of office on Saturday in the Chinese-built National Assembly in the capital Lilongwe, as flags flew at half mast in mourning for Mutharika, whose death was only officially announced by Malawi's government on Saturday. "I want all of us to move into the future with hope and a spirit of unity," Banda, wearing a black, silver and pink robe and head-dress, said amid loud applause and singing.
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