| Real Name/Full Name | Peter Mutharika |
| Nick Name/Celebrated Name: | Peter Mutharika |
| Birth Place: | Chisoka, Thyolo, Malawi |
| Date Of Birth/Birthday: | 18 July 1940 |
| Age/How Old: | 84 years old |
| Height/How Tall: | In Centimetres – 165 cm In Feet and Inches – 5′ 4″ |
| Weight: | In Kilograms – 65 Kg In Pounds – 143 lbs |
| Eye Color: | Black |
| Hair Color: | Black |
| Parents Name: | Father –Ryson Thom Mutharika Mother –Eleni Thom Mutharika |
| Siblings: | Bingu wa Mutharika |
| School: | Mulanje Mission Primary School Dedza Secondary School |
| College: | University of London Yale University |
| Religion: | Christian |
| Nationality: | Malawian |
| Zodiac Sign: | Cancer |
| Gender: | Male |
| Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Married |
| Girlfriend: | N/A |
| Wife/Spouse Name: | Christophine Mutharika[m. 1991] Gertrude Maseko [m. 2014] |
| Kids/Children Name: | Yes 3 [ Moyenda Mutharika Knapp, Monique Mutharika and Mahopela Mutharika] |
| Profession: | Lawyer and Politician |
| Net Worth: | $60 million |
| Last Updated: | November 2024 |
Peter Mutharika is a well-known Malawian lawyer as well as a politician. He was the president of Malawi from the year 2014 to 2020. He worked in the field of international justice, specializing in international economic law, comparative constitutional law, and international law. Mutharika also worked as an adviser to his brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President’s death in 2012.
Biography and Early Life
Peter Mutharika was born on 18th July 1940 in Chisoka, Thyolo, which is located in married. He is the son of Ryson Thom Mutharika, his father, and Eleni Thom Mutharika, his mother. He grew up with his one and only brother, Bingu wa Mutharika.
Education
Like any other child, Peter was taken to school. He enrolled at Mulanje Mission Primary School before joining Dedza Secondary School. After graduating from high school, he joined the University of London, where he received a degree in law [LL.B]. He later went to Yale University and received his [LL.M] and [JSD] degrees.
Personal Life: Wife, Kids, Children
Mutharika is a married man with two daughters and one son. He has married twice where his first wife, Christophine, who was a Catholic from the Caribbean, bored him the three children. She died while the children were young and left Mutharika a widower for thirty years before marrying again.
In 2014, Mutharika married again to Gertrude Maseko, who is a member of the Malawi Parliament. With his second wife, they have no child. His three children are; Moyenda Mutharika Knapp, Monique Mutharika and Mahopela Mutharika.
Professional Career
In his career as a lawyer, Mutharika was admitted to the bar in Tanzania as a professional lawyer in 1971. He also taught at Rutgers University [USA], University of Dar es Salaam [Tanzania], Washington University for 37 years [USA], Haile Selassie University [Ethiopia], served as an Academic Visitor at the London School of Economics [UK], and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Program for Foreign Service Officers from Africa and Asia at Makerere University [Uganda] as a professor.
Peter also served as advisor of the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative for Africa. Again, he assisted his brother, Bingu Wa Mutharika, as an advisor in the campaign, for the re-election as president in 2009. Mutharika entered Malawian politics, where he became the Minister in a cabinet he helped to create. He also served as an advisor to the President until the President’s death in 2012. Mutharika was into politics fully and decided to resign from two international court cases with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes that he was arbitrating on Zimbabwe with the Zimbabwean government.
Mutharika was elected the president of Malawi, and in 2009 in May, he was also elected to the Malawian Parliament, where his brother, Bingu wa Mutharika, appointed him to the Malawi Cabinet as Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Later, he became minister of Education, Science, and Technology, and as of 2011, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the new War Cabinet. Bingu wa Mutharika planned to make his brother Mutharika the Vice-President, which failed.
During the 2014 elections, Mutharika was elected as president. He was sworn in as president on 31st May 2014. Mutharika’s first term was marked and affected by strong popular discontent due to corruption, food shortages, and power cuts. Thousands of people and businesspeople were corrupted by Mutharika and accused him of receiving more than $200,000. During his rule as president, he failed a lot of people in Malawi.
During the 2020 elections, Mutharika was defeated by Lazarus Chakwera, having obtained about 40% of the vote. Chakwera was sworn in as president of Malawi on 28th June in 2020. Malawi Anti-Corruption Commission froze the bank account of Peter and his wife Gertrude as part of an Anti-corruption investigation into the importation of K5 billion dollars’ worth of cement-free of taxes, a privilege for incumbent presidents in Malawi. Mutharika’s application to lift the freeze on his accounts was dismissed by the High Court on January 2021.
Awards and Achievements
Throughout his career as a lawyer and in the political sector, Mutharika has won a number of awards. They include; International Jurist Award in 2008, Nelson Mandela Leadership Award, National Baptist Convention in 2018, and The African Leadership Award and Medal of Honour in 2016.
He also achieved the following honorary; Honorary Professor, University of International Business and Economics in Beijing and China in 2018, Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters [L.H.D], Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, the United States in 2018, Honorary Doctors Letters [Hon. D.Litt.], University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2016, among many more.
Net Worth, Salary & Earnings of Peter Mutharika in 2024
Peter Mutharika has an estimated net worth of around $60 million. He has gathered all his wealth from his able careers as a lawyer and also in politics. His wealth makes him one of the richest men in Malawi. He is a very successful man and thus making his wife and children live a luxurious and wealthy life.
Some Interesting Facts You Need To Know
- He has a net worth of around $60 million and thus making him among the richest men in Malawi.
- He raised his children alone after the death of his wife, who left the children while young.
Peter Mutharika is one of the successful and richest men in Malawi. His hard work has enabled him to make both name and fame for himself. He is an inspiration to all men and women in Malawi and all over the world.