Lazarus Chakwera was sworn in as president of Malawi on June 28.
Having served as the Malawi Assemblies of God general superintendent for 24 years and as a member and/or secretary of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship for more than a decade, Chakwera, 65, also has leadership experience on multiple boards and organizations in the corporate world. He gained political experience after resigning as general superintendent in 2013 to focus on a 2014 bid for the presidency.
In a video posted by St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Chakwera admits that he initially argued with God about going into politics. “And one day, God spoke to my heart, and God was not saying I’m pulling you out of ministry — God was saying I’m extending your ministry.”
AG General Superintendent (USA) Doug Clay sends his congratulations to Chakwera, and states: “I’ve long admired the leadership and courage that Lazarus Chakwera has shown in both the Malawi Assemblies of God and our global Assemblies of God family. I am confident God will use him to now lead the great nation of Malawi.”
“I really came to admire him [Chakwera] so greatly when I heard his plan for church planting in his country of Malawi,” says George O. Wood, former AG USA general superintendent and current chairman of the World Assemblies of God Fellowship. “His goal was to plant a church within walking distance of every citizen of Malawi.”
“He has always impressed me as a very dignified and forceful, but kind and gracious leader,” Wood continues. “I believe he is the first former AG general superintendent to be elected as president of his country. This fact testifies to the immense respect he has gained, not only within the Malawian AG and our Fellowship, but also within the citizenry of his country.”
Chakwera came from humble beginnings, his father and mother being subsistence farmers in the Lilongwe District, his father also a minister and evangelist. Chakwera’s parents chose to name him Lazarus after the biblical Lazarus who was raised from the dead, following the deaths of their first two infant sons, believing he would survive. Lazarus and his wife, Monica, have four adult children and several grandchildren.
