Malawi's Vice-President Joyce Banda has been sworn in as president following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika. 
 
 She becomes southern Africa's first female head of state after taking the oath before parliament in the Malawian capital, Lilongwe. 
 
 Ms Banda, who had been vice-president since 2009, was cheered and applauded before, during and after the ceremony. 
 
 Mr Mutharika, 78, went into cardiac arrest on Thursday, although his death was not confirmed until Saturday. 
 
 The delay in announcing his death had prompted fears of a power struggle. 
 
 There had been speculation that the late president's inner circle was trying to circumvent Malawi's constitution to prevent Ms Banda from taking over and instead install his brother, Foreign Minister Peter Mutharika. 
 
 Who is Joyce Banda? 1950: Born 
 
 2009: Elected vice-president 
 
 2011: Fell out with President Bingu wa Mutharika but he failed to have her removed from her post 
 
 2012: Sworn in as president after Mr Mutharika's death 
 
 Southern Africa's first female head of state 
 
 Has large charity to help educate and empower women 
 
 Her father was a well-known musician; her sister was hired to work in pop star Madonna's school 
 
 Ms Banda had fallen out with Mr Mutharika in 2010 and became one of his fiercest critics. She was expelled from the ruling Democratic People's Party (DPP) and formed the People's Party. 
 
 She was elected as vice-president in 2009 and Mr Mutharika had failed in his attempts to have her removed from her post. 
 
 In taking the oath of office, Ms Banda pledged to "defend and preserve the constitution" and to do right to all manner of people, according to law. 
 
 She then asked parliament to stand for two minutes' silence as a tribute to Mr Mutharika. 
 
 Asking Malawians to "focus on mourning our father," Ms Banda added: "It is with a great sense of humility and honour that I accept the huge responsibility of that the people of Malawi have entrusted me with." 
 
 At present, there are just a handful of MPs in her party but the BBC's Raphael Tenthani in Blantyre says many more are likely to join now that she is president. 
 
 On Friday, Information Minister Patricia Kaliati had said Ms Banda could not take over as head of state because she had gone into opposition. The UK, the US and the EU all called on Malawi to respect its constitution. 
 
 Appeal for calm 
 
 Image caption There have been growing protests against Mr Mutharika over the last year 
 
 Shortly after Mr Mutharika's death was confirmed, Ms Banda addressed journalists, flanked by the heads of the army and police, the attorney general and other officials. 
 
 She said funeral arrangements would soon be discussed and that 10 days of national mourning would be held. 
 
 She also said preparations were being made to bring Mr Mutharika's body back from South Africa, where he was taken after his cardiac arrest. 
 
 Mr Mutharika governed Malawi for eight years, but was recently accused of mismanaging the economy and becoming increasingly autocratic. 
 
 He fell out last year with Britain, the former colonial power, which withdrew its direct aid, accusing the Malawian government of mishandling the economy and of failing to uphold human rights. 
 
 Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world, with an estimated 75% of the population living on less than $1 (60p) a day. 
 
 The country has suffered shortages of fuel and foreign currency since the UK and other donors cancelled aid. ||||| Malawi has known rule by Britain and by a mercurial dictator. Over the last few days, however, it wasn't clear who was leading this impoverished southern African country, as doctors disclosed Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika had died but the government insisted he was only ill. 
 
 FILE - In this photo taken Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika arrives at the UN Conference Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Doctors who treated Malawi's President Bingu wa Mutharika... (Associated Press) 
 
 In the end, Joyce Banda, who had held onto her post of vice president despite falling out with Mutharika, moved to take charge Saturday, holding a news conference at which she was flanked by Cabinet ministers, the army commander national police chief and announced a period of mourning for her predecessor. 
 
 The Malawi government only confirmed the president's death on Saturday, two days after the leader of the impoverished southern African country died and a day after it was announced by doctors. 
 
 The delay in announcing Mutharika's death and allowing Banda to step in led to speculation politicians were squabbling over succession. Banda may have to contend with powerful enemies at home as she tries to lead her country out of economic crisis and repair relations with international donors with whom Mutharika had clashed. 
 
 Gift Mwakhawa, president of the Law Society of Malawi, is convinced some members of Cabinet tried to stop Banda from taking over, even though Malawi's constitution makes it clear power should pass to the vice president if the president dies. 
 
 "Most Malawians wanted the constitution to prevail. The security forces wanted the constitution to prevail. And the constitution has prevailed," Mwakhawa said in an interview. 
 
 Under the constitution, Banda will serve out Mutharika's term, which ends in early 2014. Mutharika first won office in 2004, and was re-elected in 2009. 
 
 Doctors, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, said the 78-year-old Mutharika died Thursday, before his body was flown to South Africa. Taking the body to South Africa was apparently done to buy time for politicians to work out a succession plan. 
 
 Local and international media had carried reports of his death since Thursday, and Malawians had furiously discussed it among themselves and on social media platforms. 
 
 When Mutharika first came to power, he was backed by his predecessor, Bakili Muluzi. A feud ensued after Mutharika had Muluzi charged with corruption and fraud. Mutharika left the ruling party to establish his own. Political bickering between the two men led to extensive legislative delays, rioting, a failed impeachment bid, and accusations of coup and assassination plots. 
 
 John Kapito, chairman of the Malawi Human Rights Commission, said more bickering could lie ahead. Men who had gained power under Mutharika may not give it up without a political fight. Among them is Mutharika's brother, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Arthur Mutharika. President Mutharika had favored his brother after clashing with Banda, naming him as acting president when he traveled. The president did not have time to consolidate the succession before his heart attack, an event that took many by surprise. 
 
 The late president's party named his brother as its president on Friday, though it did not then confirm the president had died. 
 
 "She will be tested," Kapito said of Banda. 
 
 Banda, 62, takes over a country in which shortages of sugar, fuel and other commodities have created long, restive lines at shops and service stations. 
 
 Mutharika, a former World Bank official once heralded for his economic stewardship, had in recent years been accused of mismanagement and of trampling on human rights. 
 
 Anti-government demonstrations across Malawi last year were met with an unprecedented security crackdown that resulted in at least 19 deaths. 
 
 Last month, a U.S. aid agency that rewards good governance suspended $350 million worth of assistance to Malawi. The International Monetary Fund describes its program with Malawi as "off-track." Mutharika had ignored IMF advice to devalue the country's currency. 
 
 Kapito, the human rights activists, said he hoped Malawians and foreign donors will rally around Banda, wife of a retired chief justice. 
 
 Mwakhawa, of the law society, said Banda "was one of the people who advocated for adherence to the rule of law and sound economic policies while she was an estranged vice president. We expect her to practice what she's preached." 
 
 "Life President" Hastings Kamuzu Banda led Malawi to independence from Britain, only to impose an oppressive rule from 1963 to 1994. Whims that reflected his puritanical streak were law. The U.S.-trained physician and former Presbyterian church elder always attired in a dark suit and Homburg hat, banned women from wearing pants and short skirts, and banned long hair on men. 
 
 Joyce Banda, who is not related to the dictator, recently joined protest marches in this still conservative country in support of women's right to dress as they please. 
 
 Hastings Kamuzu Banda lost power in the country's first multiparty election in 1994 and died three years later. 
 
 ____ 
 
 Bryson reported from Johannesburg
– A milestone for southern Africa today, by way of Malawi: Joyce Banda was sworn in as president to become the first female leader in the region, reports the BBC. Banda takes over from Bingu wa Mutharika, who died of a heart attack on Thursday but whose death was confirmed by the government only today. Why the delay? The AP and BBC suspect a power struggle over who would succeed him. Banda had been his vice president since 2009, but the two had become fierce political enemies. She apparently won out over the late president's brother, the foreign affairs minister. Banda will serve out Mutharika's term, which ends in 2014.