Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda Comes to Brown
The 93rd Memorial Stephen A. Ogden Lecture on International Affairs featured Her Excellency Dr. Joyce Banda, who served as President of the Republic of Malawi from 2012 until 2014. As the second female president in the history of the African continent, Banda’s vast political experience and success in her home nation of 17 million people has motivated her to speak out about the need for more moral and ethical leadership in Africa.Following a laudatory introduction from Brown President Christina Paxson, which touched upon Banda’s long political pedigree and extensive personal victories, Banda took the stage. In her lecture, entitled “Moral Leadership: The Prerequisite for Economic Growth, Development, and Peace In Africa,” Banda provided an outline for the kind of leadership a prosperous Africa needs. She also shared intimate details from her own life that explained the background behind her political aspirations. 
Banda's conception of "moral leadership" is one that seems intuitive. She says that it necessitates figures who truly care more about their people than about themselves, as well as transparency, accountability, and inclusivity. The continent, according to Banda, is now suffering its "third cry" of oppressive leadership, one marred with corruption and which follows a first cry of colonial rule and a second of military factions. She explained that the lack of ethical leadership in some African nations has turned the vast natural and human resources the continent has to offer into a curse.More so than ever, Africa needs leaders who make decisions that benefit the populace. She cited examples of such leaders in Tanzania, Botswana, and Ghana, and how they have made their nations some of the most peaceful and economically fertile countries in the world. 
As president of Malawi, Banda placed the people before herself to an extent that would seem unprecedented in Western politics. Directly after winning the election, she changed the cabinet, which had been previously occupied by only one party, into an all-inclusive one. Better yet, when she was made aware of potential corruption in her administration, she dissolved her cabinet and formed a committee that tasked the opposition party with carrying out the investigation and publicizing their findings. She has since passed the Declaration of Assets bill, which mandates all politicians to declare their assets upon entering and leaving office, and that political leaders do so every year. Such a measure would be politically impossible in the United States, but in Malawi it saved the nation from political theft. During her tenure Banda made a point to give resources back to her people. She sold the $15 million private jet that had been purchased by the previous President, and donated a third of her salary to help fortify Malawi’s infrastructure. In addition, she also expanded freedom of the press, with Malawi's World Press Freedom Index rank moving from 145 to 79 during her presidency.Banda has since gone on to found the Joyce Banda Foundation International. The victim of an abusive marriage as well as a near-victim of maternal death, the former President is a strong proponent of both human and women’s rights. The Foundation seeks to bring economic and educational independence to women in Malawi, and takes measures to decrease maternal mortality and treat HIV/AIDS. She is currently conducting her research at the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Wilson Center in Washington D.C.Images via and via