[3] An educator and grassroots women's rights activist, she was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and the Vice-President of Malawi from May 2009 to April 2012.

[4] She has served in various roles as a member of Parliament and as Minister of Gender and Child Welfare before she became the President of the Republic of Malawi.

[9] Joyce Hilda Ntila[10] was born on 12 April 1950 in Malemia, a village in the Zomba District of Nyasaland (now Malawi).

[13] She earned a Cambridge School Certificate,[14] a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education from Columbus University (an unaccredited distance education institution),[7] a Bachelor of Social Studies in Gender Studies from Atlantic International University (also an unaccredited distance learning institution) and a Diploma in Management of NGOs from the International Labour Organization (ILO) Centre in Turin, Italy.

[18] In 1975, a growing women's movement in Kenya motivated Banda to take her three children and leave what she has described as an abusive marriage.

[20][21] Between 1985 and 1997 Banda managed and established various businesses and organisations including Ndekani Garments (1985), Akajuwe Enterprises (1992), and Kalingidza Bakery (1995).

[14] Her success inspired her to help other women achieve financial independence and break the cycles of abuse and poverty.

[22] She is sister to Anjimile Oponyo, former CEO of the[23] Raising Malawi Academy for Girls, financed by Madonna.

She designed the National Platform for Action on Orphans and Vulnerable Children and the Zero Tolerance Campaign Against Child Abuse.

[28] In attempts to ostracise her, the President continued to give roles that were previously held by her to Callista Mutharika, who was included in the cabinet in September 2011.

[28] This move led to mass resignations in the DPP and the formation of networks that supported her candidacy to become President of Malawi in the 2014 general election.

[33] Joyce Banda is the founder and leader of the People's Party, formed in 2011 after Banda was expelled from the ruling DPP when she refused to endorse President Mutharika's younger brother Peter Mutharika as the successor to the presidency for the 2014 general election.

[45] Chief Justice Lovemore Munlo presided over the ceremony which was held at the National Assembly in Lilongwe.

A Malawi Sunday Times editorial said that the new president's inauguration had "helped to entrench and cement a democratic culture in the country.

[46] On 10 October 2013, a few days after returning from a trip to the UN, President Joyce Banda sacked her cabinet following the Capital Hill Cashgate scandal.

A warrant for her arrest in connection with alleged corruption during her stint as President was announced on 31 July 2017, although she remained outside the country.

She also had the challenge of restoring diplomatic ties with Malawi's neighbours like Mozambique, and regional countries such as Botswana.

Within the first week of her presidency, Banda launched a diplomatic offensive to repair Malawi's international relations.

Banda announced plans to speak to Baroness Ashton of the European Union's Foreign Affairs office and the Malawi's IMF Resident Representative, Ruby Randall.

[53] At least partly to further please donors, Banda's administration also refused in June 2012 to host that July's African Union summit on the grounds that the AU had insisted that Sudan's president Omar al-Bashir be given assurances that Malawi would refuse to serve the International Criminal Court arrest warrant against him; the Cabinet decided that such conditions were unacceptable.

[55] Amnesty International reported in early November 2012 that Malawi had "suspended" laws criminalising homosexuality pending a vote.

[56] On the advice of the International Monetary Fund, in May 2012 Banda devalued the Malawian kwacha, something Mutharika had refused to do.

The announcement of the kwacha's devaluation by 33 per cent against the United States dollar, an attempt to attract donor funding, prompted "panic-buying" in Malawian cities, the BBC News reported.

[57] Upon becoming President, Banda decided to sell her presidential jet and make a contribution of 30% of her salary to benefit the Malawi Council for the Handicapped.

[58] On 17 January 2013, thousands of Malawians protested in Blantyre against rising inflation after Banda, joined by IMF chief Christine Lagarde, defended the devaluation of the kwacha and said she would not reverse the decision.

[59][60] President Banda has shown consistent commitment to maternal health and reproductive rights, specifically through her support of safe motherhood in Malawi.

[70] They work towards creating dialogue with policymakers to make policies favourable to women business owners.

[70] Banda has been involved with many grassroots projects with women since the age of 25 to bring about policy change, particularly in education.

[72] In 2010, Banda became a member of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health,[73] a group of sixteen sitting and former heads of state, high-level policymakers and other leaders committed to advancing reproductive health for lasting development and prosperity.

[73] Chaired by former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, these leaders seek to mobilise the political will and financial resources necessary to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015 – a key target of the UN Millennium Development Goals.