Madame Callista Chapola-Chimombo (Callista Mutharika) (born 24 May 1959) is a

Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

an politician and the

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

. She served as the First Lady of the

Republic of Malawi Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over and ...

from 2010 to 2012. Chimombo was a member of the

Cabinet of Malawi The Cabinet of Malawi is the executive branch of the government, made up of the President, Vice President, Ministers and Deputy Ministers responsible for the different departments. Cabinet as of 31 January 2023 A new cabinet was appointed on ...

as a National Coordinator of Maternal, Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis. She served from 2022 as the High Commissioner of Malawi in the Republic of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. She has served as a member of the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

, and as the Malawi Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture. In 2005, she was Secretary of the

Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus The Malawi Parliamentary Women's Caucus is a cross party group of women who are members of Malawi's National Assembly. It was formed in 1996 when there were nine women members of parliament who wanted to work together across parties whenever the ...

. Chimombo was a member of the

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

and a member of the United Democratic Front (UDF).

Personal

In January 2010, following a period of intense speculation, it was announced that Chimombo and President Mutharika were engaged to be married and would marry on 1 May 2010. They got engaged on Valentine's Day 2010 in a traditional ceremony that was broadcast on the news.
At one point, Mutharika and Callista displayed their joy by taking it to the dance floor where his children, family members and guests spent almost 20 minutes dancing to an interlude of music that turned the whole event into a frenzy of excitement and jubilation. They were married in a Roman Catholicism in Malawi, Roman Catholic Church.

Career

She has worked for

Joyce Banda Joyce Hilda Banda (née Ntila; born 12 April 1950) is a Malawi, Malawian politician, who served as List of heads of state of Malawi, President of Malawi, from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. Banda took office as President following the sudden deat ...

's Hunger Project before being involved in politics.

Political career

As of 2005, she was Secretary of the

. She served as a member of Parliament for Likangala Constituency in the district of Zomba. She also was a member of the

and was Minister of Tourism and Culture in Malawi. She became First Lady of Malawi after marrying

First Lady of Malawi

After her marriage to Bingu Wa Mutharika, she was the first lady of Malawi until the death of

Mutharika Mutharika may refer to: *Bingu wa Mutharika, born Brightson Webster Ryson Thom (1934–2012), Malawian politician and economist, President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012 ** Callista Mutharika, also known as Callista Chimombo ...

on 5 April 2012. Mutharika was a politically vocal first lady. She publicly weighed in on the decision by the DPP to fire the first and second vice-president by stating that

(who had not publicly expressed an interest to run as President) was not qualified to run as president. She stated that Banda's supporters were tantalizing themselves by drawing parallels with Liberian first female President

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gol ...

. Some suggested that she may have considered running for President in 2014.

Safe Motherhood role

In August 2010, late president

appointed her as African Union Goodwill Ambassador for Safe Motherhood, replacing Vice President

. The concept of a National Coordinator for safe Motherhood in Malawi was drawn from that of the national Goodwill Ambassador for Safe Motherhood initiated by the

Africa Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The ...

Conference of Ministers of Health in 2005. She was also in charge of the Safe Motherhood Foundation. The First Lady's Foundation sought to promote the advancement of women and vulnerable populations in all sectors of our rapidly changing and developing society.

Malaria program

Mutharika, was also in charge of the country's Malaria program. This was made an official cabinet role on September 8, 2011.

Official duties and cabinet role

After coming to power, the former First Lady was increasingly given the roles of the official Vice-President, now President

and Banda's name was omitted from the official Malawi cabinet list.
She has also been appointed to the Cabinet of Malawi, Malawi Cabinet as of September 8, 2011 as the National Coordinator of Maternal, Infant and Child Health and HIV/Nutrition/Malaria and Tuberculosis. Her work, including charity work has been considered as a salaried position by the Mutharika administration and she a monthly sum of over $7,000 for doing charity work as a coordinator of safe motherhood. On September8th, 2011, an online newspaper,

Maravi post Maravi was an empire that comprised central and southern Malawi, parts of Mozambique, and eastern Zambia, from at least the early 15th century. The Chewa language, also known as Nyanja, is the main language that emerged from the empire. The Ban ...

and the Nyasatimes Newspapers reported that Callista Mutharika had been either accidentally or purposefully listed as Vice President of Malawi on the official Malawi government website and included

screenshots A screenshot (also known as screen capture or screen grab) is an analog or digital image that shows the contents of a computer display. A screenshot is created by a (film) camera shooting the screen or the operating system or software running o ...

. This information was corrected on the government site. The Mutharika administration though has denied that she is the nation's Vice President.

Castigation of NGO's and civil society

Callista Mutharika created tension over a speech in which she criticized local NGO's that, "supported homosexuality and disturbed peace". She asserted that the NGO's were being given money to disturb the peace and to spread homosexuality in the country. She also castigated the civil rights groups for organizing the July, 20

2011 Malawi protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'', ...

and encouraged rural dwellers not to protest. She received much criticism for her statements regarding the protest and civil society. Eight organizations signed an official response, acknowledging her right to free speech but questioning her role as the spokesperson for the party because her role as a spokesperson was not mandated in the constitution at that time. They accused her of spreading propaganda and stated that her comments were 'reckless and unacceptable'.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chimombo, Callista 1959 births Living people Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Malawi Malawian Roman Catholics Democratic Progressive Party (Malawi) politicians Government ministers of Malawi United Democratic Front (Malawi) politicians First ladies and gentlemen of Malawi Women government ministers of Malawi 21st-century Malawian women politicians Women members of the Pan-African Parliament