President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has appointed Lt General Paul Valentino Phiri as New Army Commander.
Phiri, who until his appointment was deputy Army Commander, has replaced Vincent Nundwe.
“In exercise of the powers vested in him under Section 161(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi, His Excellency Dr. Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force, has appointed Lt. General Paul Valentino Phiri as the Commander of the Malawi Defence Force, and has promoted him to the rank of General with immediate effect,” reads the letter in part.
As Deputy Head of MDF, Phiri was responsible for the provision of policy direction in various directorates.
Lieutenant General Paul Valentino Phiri was born on 29 December 1960 and entered the Malawi Armed Forces College as a Direct Entry Cadet in 1980.
He graduated from the College in 1982 as an infantry officer and has served in various Command and Staff appointments including Chief of Training, Chief of Military Operations, Deputy Chief of Training, Commanding Officer of the third battalion of the Malawi Rifles, Staff Officer Grade I at the Malawi’s premier military institution, Officer Commanding as well as Platoon Commander.
Before being appointed Deputy Commander, he served as Inspector General at the Joint Headquarters from September 2016.
Lieutenant General Phiri holds a PhD in Peace, Conflict and Security Studies, Masters’ Degree in Strategic Management from Derby University in the United Kingdom, Masters’ Degree in Global Security from Cranfield University I the United Kingdom and B.Sc. International Studies from University of Nairobi in Kenya.
He is an Adjunct Staff at Mzuzu University where he teaches at the Centre for Security Studies, and a visiting lecturer at the University of Cape Town where he teaches Peace, Conflict and Security Studies.