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Patricia Kaliati

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Patricia Kaliati MP
Former Member of Parliament Mulanje West
In office
19 May 1999 – 23 May 2019
In office
May 2007 – May 2009
PresidentBingu wa Mutharika
Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development
In office
15 June 2009 – 9 August 2010
PresidentBingu wa Mutharika
Minister of Information and Civic Education
In office
11 September 2011 – 10 April 2012
PresidentBingu wa Mutharika
Succeeded byMoses Kunkuyu
Personal details
Born1967
NationalityMalawian
Political party United Transformation Movement (2018-Present) Democratic Progressive Party (2005-2018)
United Democratic Front (pre-2005)
Children4
Alma materBembeke Teachers College
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionTeacher

Patricia Annie Kaliati is a Malawian politician and former educator who has held various ministerial positions in the Cabinet of Malawi.

Early life and education

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Kaliati was born in 1967 in the village Nkando, Mulanje, Southern Region, Malawi. She trained as a teacher in 1988 receiving a Primary School Teaching Certificate from Bembeke Teachers College and later obtained a Diploma in Human Resource Management. Upon completion of her formal education, she taught in primary and secondary schools from 1993 to 1999.[1] She is a staunch Catholic.[2]

Political career

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In the 1999 general election Patricia Kaliati was elected Member of Parliament for Mulanje West Constituency on a United Democratic Front ticket, a position she continues to hold.[3] In 2000 she was appointed Deputy Minister of Health to the Bakili Muluzi administration. Kaliati was then shuffled to Deputy Minister of National Public Events (2002–2004) and then Deputy Minister of Local Government. She was re-elected in 2004 and was appointed Minister of Information and Tourism, renamed Minister of Information and Civic Education in May 2007, holding that position until May 2009.[4]

In the May 2009 elections Patricia Kaliati was again elected on the Democratic Progressive Party ticket.[5] Kaliati was appointed Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development in the cabinet that became effective on 15 June 2009.[6] She was dropped from the cabinet on 9 August 2010.[7] She was appointed Minister of Information and Civic Education in September 2011.[8]

Controversy

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Kaliati has been an outspoken and controversial member of the cabinet.[8] In February 2012 Kaliati condemned the Weekend Times tabloid for its page 8 "Action Girl", which she described as pornographic and misogynistic.[9] In 1999, Kaliati reportedly used government funds to provide education bursaries for children of her key supporters and to help win election in Mulanje in 2009.[10][11] The subsequent investigation of Kaliati by Malawi's Anti Corruption Bureau was stalled in response to political influence.[12] [13]

In March 2012 she was accused of threatening a journalist who had written an article critical of her performance in the cabinet.[14] After the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika on 5 April 2012, she was involved in a constitutional crisis in Malawi and was dubbed as one of the 'midnight six'. On 6 April 2012 Kaliati addressed a press conference as government spokesperson, saying that Vice President Joyce Banda "is not eligible to take over the leadership of this country because she formed her own party".[15] Banda was sworn in as President the next day.[16]

In October 2024, Kaliati was arrested and charged with "conspiring with others to commit a serious offence" amid rumours of a plot to assassinate President Lazarus Chakwera.[17]

Personal life

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As of 2009 Kaliati was married with four children.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biography for Patricia Kaliati". SiloBreaker. Jan 15, 2009. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved 2012-04-09.
  2. ^ "A Diploma Holder; A Minister; mother languishing: Meet Patriacia Kaliati". afriem.org. 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
  3. ^ "Hon. P. A. Kaliati - Mulanje - West". Parliament of Malawi. Retrieved 2012-03-12.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Cabinet Profiles - June 2010". Best of Malawi. Archived from the original on 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  5. ^ "Malawi Election 2009 Results". African Elections Project. Archived from the original on 2013-11-04. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
  6. ^ "Malawi's 43 member cabinet list as unveiled by President Mutharika". Nyasa Times. 17 June 2009. Archived from the original on 10 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
  7. ^ "MALAWI CABINET AS OF AUGUST 9, 2010" (PDF). Government of Malawi. Retrieved 2011-03-03.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ a b Jailos Majamanda (7 September 2011). "President Mutharika appoints new cabinet ministers". Malawi Today. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
  9. ^ Judith Moyo (February 21, 2012). "Kaliati wants ban on 'sexualized' Action Girl images". Nyasa Times. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  10. ^ The Political Economy of Local Governance in Malawi, Public Affairs Committee, 2011
  11. ^ "Anti-corruption Bureau stalled Kaliati's corruption case". Face of Malawi. August 5, 2012. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  12. ^ "Anti-corruption Bureau stalled Kaliati's corruption case". Face of Malawi. August 5, 2012. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  13. ^ Malawi National Integrity System Assessment 2013, Transparency International
  14. ^ "Minister Kaliati threatens journalist Gondwe - Misa Malawi". Nyasa Times. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  15. ^ REX CHIKOKO (April 7, 2012). "Vice President ineligible - Malawi Cabinet". Africa Review. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  16. ^ "Joyce Banda sworn in as new Malawi president". BBC News. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-08.
  17. ^ "Senior Malawi politician accused of plotting to kill president". BBC News. 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
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