Lilongwe -> Intro

Intro

 

The 1891 British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, multiparty elections were held in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda was made Prime Minister and later the (life) President. In 1994, Dr Bakili Muluzi won the first democratic elections of Malawi since independence. He was re-elected in 1999.

The city of Lilongwe in S central Malawi was made the capital in 1975 when the capital was moved from Blantyre. The city has an estimated population of 395,500 (1994) and is the main administrative and commercial centre. It was founded in 1947 as an agricultural marketing centre. It is a well-planned city and government programs of the 1970s and 80s expanded the city's transportation facilities including the construction of an international airport and rail connections to neighbouring cities.