Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

an educator, grassroots gender rights activist turned politician who has been Vice-President of Malawi since May 2009. She is Malawi's first female vice president. She had previous posts as a Member of Parliament, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Gender, Children's Affairs and Community Services. Prior to an active career in politics she was the founder of the Joyce Banda Foundation, founder of the National Association of Business Women (NABW), Young Women Leaders Network and the Hunger Project.

She is currently the figurehead of the newly created People's Party

People's Party (Malawi)

People's Party is a political party in the Republic of Malawi that was founded in 2011 by Joyce Banda, the incumbent Vice-President of Malawi.Joyce Banda created the People's Party after being expelled from the ruling DPP when she refused to endorse President Bingu wa Mutharika's younger brother...

 and is likely to contest to become President of Malawi in the 2014 general election.
Banda comes from Malemia village in the Zomba district of Malawi.