GOVERNMENT

Lazarus Chakwera

President of Malawi

In Sept. 2020, the African nation of Malawi joined the list of countries that have relocated their embassies in Israel from Tel Aviv to the capital Jerusalem. That decision was undertaken by the country’s new President, Lazarus Chakwera. Asked about objections from Arab countries to the move, a spokesperson for Chakwera – a Christian minister who entered politics seven years ago – answered that “Malawi will always pursue diplomatic relations on the basis of what is in the best interest of Malawi.” Unlike most other African countries, Malawi – which agreed to diplomatic relations with Israel in 1964 – retained bilateral ties after the 1967 war, resisting Arab entreaties to cut its links with the Jewish state. (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)