Desmond Dudwa Phiri, commonly known as D. D. Phiri, (February 23, 1931 – March 24, 2019) was 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 author, economist, historian, and playwright.Phiri, D. D., ''Malawi: Our Future Our Choice'', Society of Malawi Publishing (Historic and Scientific), 2006. He was born in

Mzimba Mzimba is a town in the Mzimba District of Malawi. The district is inhabited by descendants of Tumbuka and few Ngoni people. The district of Mzimba has a number of Traditional Authorities from the Ngoni people. The head of these Traditional A ...

, Malawi, and was the Principal and proprietor of the Aggrey Memorial School in

Blantyre Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is ...

. He published 17 books in the fields of history, sociology and economics and was recognized by the Pan-African Writers' Association (PAWA) as one of the top 23 authors in Africa in 2011. He was a regular columnist in ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'' newspaper. He died on 24 March 2019 at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre

Personal life

Phiri was born on 23 February 1931 in Mzimba, Malawi. He went to Blantyre Secondary School and Livingstonia and London. He later moved to England and studied Economics, History, and Sociology at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

(part of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

). He was accorded with an honorary doctorate by the

University of Malawi The University of Malawi (UNIMA) is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant funding from a government. Whethe ...

Career

He worked as a diplomat in the foreign service and retired from the civil service in 1976. He was the Principal and Proprietor of Aggrey Memorial School. He was a columnist for ''

'' newspaper.

Published works

Books

Biography

*''Let Us Die for Africa: An African Perspective on the Life and Death of John Chilembwe of Nyasaland'' - 1999 *''Charles Chidongo Chinula'' - 1975 *''Dunduzu K. Chisiza'' - 1974 *''James Frederick Sangala: Founder of the Nyasaland African Congress and Bridge between Patriot John Chilembwe and Ngwazi Dr. H. Kamuzu Banda'' - 1974 *''Inkosi Gomani II: Maseko-Ngoni Paramount Chief Who Suffered Martyrdom for His People and Country'' - 1973

History

*''From Nguni to Ngoni:A History of the Ngoni Exodus from Zululand and Swaziland to Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia'' - 1982 * ''History of Malawi: From Earliest Times to the Year 1915'' - January 2004 *''History of the Tumbuka People'' - 2000 *''Democracy with a Price: The History of Malawi since 1900'' (co-authors

Bakili Muluzi 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 al ...

, Yusuf Juwayeyi, Mercy Makhambera) - 1999

Novels (in Tumbuka language)

*''Mankhwala a Ntchito'' *''Kanakazi Kayaya'' *''Ku Msika wa Vyawaka'' *''Ulanda wa Mavunika''

Self-help

* ''Hints to Private Students'' * ''What the Achievers Teach about Success''

Essays

* ''Malawi Our Future Our Choice: The Selected Essays of D. D. Phiri'' (co-authors John Williams, Judy Williams) - 2006

Plays

*''The Chief's Bride''