Chaponda Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
What position did George Chaponda take from May 2014 to Apr 2016?
George Chaponda George T . Chaponda ( born 1 November 1942 ) is a Malawian career diplomat and politician who served as Malawis Minister of Agriculture , Irrigation and Water Development from 2016 to 2017 . He is a founding member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP ) and is a DPP Member of Parliament from Mulanje district in southern Malawi . Early life . Born in Chonde Village , Mulanje District , Chaponda studied at the University of Delhi from 1963 to 1968 where he received degrees in history and political science . He studied law at the University of Zambia from 1976 to 1979 and at Yale University from 1980 to 1984 . He was admitted to the bar in 1980 . Career . He has held a number of senior positions in Zambia , including chief executive of a parastal organisation . From 1984 to 2002 , he worked mostly as a senior lawyer for the Office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Somalia , Kenya , Thailand , Bangladesh , Switzerland , Austria , Poland and Ethiopia . From 2003-2004 he was Chairman of the University Council of the University of Malawi . In 2004 Chaponda entered Malawian politics and was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Mulanje South West constituency . In June 2004 , he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of the newly elected President Bingu wa Mutharika . He served in that position until 2005 , when he was appointed Minister of Local Government and Rural Development . After the elections in May 2009 , President Peter Mutharika appointed him Minister of Education , but moved him to lead the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in 2010 . The entire cabinet was dismissed on 19 August 2011 . In September 2011 , President Peter Mutharika re-appointed him to cabinet as Minister of Education , Science and Technology . He served in that post until April 2012 , when the president died suddenly of a heart attack . Mutharikas successor , Joyce Banda , appointed Chaponda Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on 22 June 2014 . On 7 April 2016 , President Peter Mutharika moved Chaponda to the Ministry of Agriculture , Irrigation and Water Development . Mutharika then appointed him Leader of the House of Assembly in May 2016 . After a brief suspension in early 2017 , Chaponda was re-instated in February but only held the post for a week before he was succeeded by his deputy Kondwani Nankhumwa in an interim capacity , pending the results of Chapondas ongoing corruption investigation . He is rumoured to have been groomed to succeed President Peter Mutharika , who could leave office as early as 2019 after the expected tripartite elections . Air Fouling Legislation . In February 2011 , Chaponda said that a clause in the Local Courts bill making it a misdemeanor to vitiate the atmosphere would criminalize flatulence to promote decency . He told the private Capital Radios popular Straight Talk programme , Would you be happy to see people farting anyhow ? The story was quickly picked up by the foreign press . The Solicitor General Anthony Kamanga contradicted him , saying the bill referred only to air pollution . Later , Chaponda retracted his remarks , saying he had not read the proposed bill before commenting . Personal life . Chaponda is a Christian , is married and has children. . During a parliamentary debate in the Malawi parliament in 2016 , he was involved in an altercation with a Member of Parliament from the opposition Peoples Party ( PP ) , Harry Mlekanjala Mkandawire . Mkandawire is said to have said Chaponda is one of seven ministers alleged to be in an audit report for the plunder of government funds in Malawi , popularly known as Cashgate . His son , comedian Daliso Chaponda , appeared on Britains Got Talent in 2017 , claiming Amanda Holdens Golden Buzzer . He ended up finishing in third place .