Glossary

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Mac Maharaj -  Mac Maharaj (b. 1935). South African politician and activist, served as Minister of Transport (1994-1999) in the government of Nelson Mandela.
MacDonald group -  The ‘MacDonald Group’ refers to the advisory group chaired by Flora MacDonald, the former Foreign Minister of Canada, on the role of Commonwealth non-governmental organisations in promoting human rights amongst Commonwealth member states. Prompted by the question of sanctions against apartheid South Africa, the MacDonald Group brought together representatives of the Commonwealth Journalists Association, Lawyers Association, Trade Union Council, Medical Association, and Legal Education Association in 1989, with a view to presenting a report at the 1991 Harare CHOGM.
Madiba -  The Xhosa clan name of Nelson Mandela, often used to refer to him respectfully.
Magnus Malan -  Magnus Malan (1930-2011). South African soldier and Minister of Defence (1980-1991).
Mahathir bin Mohamad -  Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad (b. 1925). Malaysian politician and Prime Minister (1981-2003).
- Synonyms: Dr Mahathir
Mahendra Chaudhry -  Mahendra Pal Chaudhry (b.1942) is a Fijian politician who served as Prime Minister of his country from 1999 to 2000. He was deposed in a coup in 2000 and taken hostage by coup leader George Speight for 56 days. Chaudhry, a former trade union leader, has been a prominent critic of military rule in Fiji.
Mahinda Rajapaksa -  Percy Mahendra ‘Mahinda’ Rajapaksa (b.1945) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to 2015. He had previously acted as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (2004-05) and as Leader of the Opposition (2002-04).
Maja Daruwala -  Maja Daruwala is an Indian barrister and human rights advocate who has served as Executive Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) since 1996. Daruwala previously worked as Ford Foundation Programme Officer for South Asia.
Makerere University -  Makerere University Kampala is Uganda’s largest institution of higher learning, established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, before becoming an independent national University in 1970. Notable alumni include Milton Obote, Julius Nyerere, and Mwai Kibaki.
Malborough House -  A London mansion house. The headquarters of the Commonwealth since 1953, and home to the Commonwealth Secretariat since its foundation in 1965.
Malcolm Fraser -  Malcolm Fraser (b. 1930). Prime Minister of Australia (1975-1983). Fraser also served as Co-Chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.
Malcolm Rifkind -  Sir Malcolm Rifkind (b.1946) is a British politician who served various ministerial roles in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, including Secretary of State for Defence (1992-95) and Foreign Secretary (1995-97). From 2010 to 2015, Rifkind was Chair of the Parliament Intelligence and Security Committee.
Malcolm Tuckerish -  Akin to Malcolm Tucker, the foul-mouthed government press adviser in the British television comedy ‘In the Thick of It’.
Mamata Banerjee -  Mamata Banerjee (b. 1960). Indian politician. She has served as Indian Railways Minister (2009-2011) and as Chief Minister of West Bengal (2011-).
Mani Dixit -  Jyotindra Nath ‘Mani’ Dixit (1936-2005) was an influential Indian diplomat who for several decades played a key role in his country’s relations with the region and the world. He was appointed India’s first high commissioner to Bangladesh in 1971, Ambassador to Afghanistan (1981-85), High Commissioner to Sri Lanka (1985-88), High Commissioner to Pakistan (1989-91) and Indian Foreign Secretary and Chief of the Indian Foreign Service in 1991.
Manmohan Malhoutra -  Manmohan Malhoutra (b. 1937). Indian diplomat, served in the Secretariat of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1973 then joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, in 1974, to run the International Affairs Division.
- Synonyms: Moni Malhoutra
Manmohan Singh -  Manmohan Singh (b. 1932). Indian politician and economist, he served as Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014.
Marcelo Caetano -  Marcelo Caetano (1906-1980) was a Portuguese politician who served as Prime Minister from 1968 to 1974 . A central figure in the Estada Novo government, Caetano had been Minister of the Presidency (1955-58) and Minister of the Colonies (1944-47). In 1974, Caetano’s government was overthrown as part of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal.
Margaret Ling -  Margaret Ling joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the UK as a student in 1972. From 1975 to 1984 she worked in the Information Department of the International Defence and Aid Fund, and edited the AAM’s monthly newspaper Anti-Apartheid News throughout the 1980s.
Margaret Thatcher -  Margaret Thatcher (1926-2013). British politician and Prime Minister (1979-1990).
- Synonyms: Mrs Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher Foundation -  An organisation that promotes the ideas of Margaret Thatcher, founded in 1991.
Mario Soares -  Mario Soares (b. 1924). Portuguese politician, Prime Minister (1976-1978, 1983-1985) and President (1986-1996).
Marjory LeBreton -  Marjory LeBreton (b.1940) is a Canadian political figure who served as Leader of the Government in the Canadian Senate from 2006 to 2013. She was appointed Conservative Senator from Ontario in 1993 and was Minister of State for Seniors from 2007 to 2010.
Mark Allen -  Sir Mark Allen (b.1950) is a British businessman and former spy. He worked for the British Foreign Service for 30 years, rising to Director of Counter-Terrorism in MI6, before retiring in 2004. He has since acted as special advisor for BP and for the Monitor Group. Sir Mark’s involvement with Libyan politics – from oil reserves to allegations of support for torture – have brought him under scrutiny since the downfall of Muammar al-Gaddafi in 2011.
Mark Brayne -  Mark Brayne (b. 1950). British journalist, who worked for the BBC and BBC World Service from 1978 to 2003.
Mark Byford -  Mark Byford (b.1958). British journalist, Head of BBC Journalism from 2004 to 2011.
Mark Carney -  Mark Joseph Carney (b.1965) is a Canadian central banker who was appointed Governor of the Bank of England in 2013. He was previously Governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013.
Mark Chona -  Mark Chona is a Zambian political figure who acted as Special Assistant for Political Affairs to President Kenneth Kaunda between 1968 and 1980. He is the brother of Mainza Chona, another prominent Zambian politician who served as Kaunda’s Vice President (1970-73).
Mark Collins -  Nicholas Mark Collins (b.1952) is a British environmental consultant and geographer who served as Director of the Commonwealth Foundation from 2005 to 2011. Collins, who had previously worked for the United Nations Environment Programme (2004-05) is the Chairman of the Galapagos Conservation Trust.
Mark Malloch Brown -  Mark Malloch Brown, Baron Malloch-Brown, (b.1953) is a British political figure and development specialist who served as Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 2007 to 2009. He was Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2006 and administered the United Nations Development Programme from 1999 to 2005.
Mark Robinson -  Mark Robinson (b. 1946). Former Conservative Party MP, he was Assistant Director in the Office of the Commonwealth Secretary-General, 1977-83 and has served as a Commonwealth election observer.
Mark Tully -  Mark Tully (b. 1935). British journalist, he worked for the BBC for thirty years 1964-1994), and was a long-serving Chief of Bureau in Delhi.
Marlborough House -  Marlborough House is a 17th century mansion in the City of Westminster, central London, which has served as the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat since 1953.
Martii Ahtisaari -  Martii Ahtisaari(b. 1937). Finnish diplomat and politician. He served as United Nations Special Representative overseeing Namibian elections in 1989, and as President of Finland (1994-2000).
Martin Khor -  Martin Khor (b.1951) is a Malaysian journalist, economist and civil society activist who was appointed Executive Director of the South Centre in 2009. Khor previously served as Director of the Third World Network and since 1997 has been a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on Environment and Human Settlements.
Martin Plaut -  Martin Plaut (b. 1950). British journalist and writer, who has worked for the BBC since 1984.
Mary Chinery-Hesse -  Mary Chinery-Hesse is a Ghanaian diplomat and civil servant who has held influential positions with a range of international organisations including the United Nations, the World Bank, the African Union and the International Labour Organisation, of which she was Deputy Director General from 1989 to 1999. In the late 1980s, she was Chairperson of the Commonwealth Expert Group of Eminent Persons on Structural Adjustment and Women.
Mary Mackie -  Mary Mackie served the Commonwealth Secretariat as Personal Assistant to Secretary General Emeka Anyaoku (1990-2000).
Mathews Phosa -  Matthews Phosa (b. 1952). South African politician, anti-apartheid activist and member of the ANC.
Matthew Neuhaus -  Matthew Neuhaus is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), Australia, and was appointed Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe in 2011. From 2002 to 2008 he served as Director of the Political Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, and was Assistant Secretary and Head of the CHOGM Policy Task Force in Australia.
Matthias Ngobi -  Matthias Ngobi served as Minister of Agriculture under Milton Obote’s first government in Uganda, 1962-1966. He was imprisoned during Obote’s 1966 seizure of power and, after being released in 1971, fled to the UK to live in exile during Idi Amin’s rule. He returned to Uganda in August 1985.
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom -  Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (b. 1937). Maldivian politician. He was President of the Maldives, 1978-2008. In 2011 he formed the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).
- Synonyms: Gayoom
Maurice Bishop -  Maurice Bishop (1944-1983). Grenadian politician and Prime Minister (1979-1983). The New Jewel Party under Bishop seized power from Eric Gairy in 1979.
Max Gaylard -  Maxwell Gaylard (b. 1946). Australian diplomat. He was Director of Political/International Affairs at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London in the 1990s.
Mayibuye Centre -  The Mayibuye Centre is an archive of materials related to apartheid South Africa and the anti-apartheid struggle, based at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town, South Africa. The Centre includes a photographic archive, posters and banners, oral history records and collections of historical papers and art. The Centre was officially opened in 2001, but traces its origins back to the archives collected by the London-based International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF) during the anti-apartheid struggle itself.
Mazeru attack -  A 1982 attack by the South African military on the town of Maseru in Lesotho, where African National Congress members were believed to be in hiding, that left 42 dead.
Mbabazi -  Patrick Amama Mbabazi (b.1949) is a Ugandan political figure who served as Prime Minister of Uganda from 2011 to 2014. He previously served as Minister of Security in Yoweri Museveni’s cabinet, from 2009 to 2011, and was Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement from 2005 to 2015.
MDC -  Movement for Democratic Change. The leading Zimbabwean opposition party, founded in 1999.
- Synonyms: Movement for Democratic Change
Melanesian Spearhead Group -  The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organisation established in 1983 to coordinate trade and economic development between Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia (FLNKS). In 2007, the group was formalised under international law. It is headquartered in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Mells Park -  A country house in Britain used as a venue for negotiations between the African National Congress and National Party about the future of South Africa between 1987 and 1990.
Menghistu -  Mengistu Haile Mariam (b. 1937). Ethiopian revolutionary leader and Head of State from 1977 to 1991.
Merv Norrish -  Merwyn ‘Merv’ Norrish (b.1926) is a New Zealand diplomat who served as his country’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1980 to 1989. Norrish had previously served as Ambassador to the European Community (1967-72) and to the United States (1978-80), as well as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (1972-73).
Mervyn King -  Mervyn King, Baron King of Lothbury, (b.1948) is a British economist who served as Governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013. King had been Deputy Governor of the Bank from 1998 to 2003 and Chief Economist and Executive Director from 1991.
Michael Adeane -  Lt-Col Michael Adeane, Baron Adeane (1910-1984), was Private Secretary to the Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II, from 1953 to 1972.
Michael Fennell -  Michael Fennell is a Jamaican sports administrator who served as President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, overseeing events in Kuala Lumpur (1998), Manchester (2002), Melbourne (2006) and Delhi (2010). He has also acted as President of the Jamaican Olympic Association.
Michael Foot -  Michael Foot (1913-2010). British politician, Leader of the Labour Party from 1980 to 1983.
Michael Frendo -  Michael Frendo (b. 1955). Former Maltese politician. As a member of the Nationalist Party, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs 2004-08. He has also been a member and Chair of CMAG.
Michael Heseltine -  Michael Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, (b.1933) is a British political figure and businessman who played a prominent role in the Conservative governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Heseltine was Secretary of State for the Environment (1979-83, 1990-92), Secretary of State for Defence (1983-86) and Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1995-97).
Michael Jay -  Michael Hastings Jay, Baron Jay of Ewelme (b. 1946). British diplomat. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 2002-2006.
Michael Jopling -  Thomas Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling, (b.1930) is a British political figure who served as Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1983-87) and Chief Whip of the Conservative Party (1979-83) in the government of Margaret Thatcher. He was made a life peer in 1997.
Michael Kirby -  Michael Kirby (b.1939) is an Australian jurist who served as a Justice on the High Court of Australia between 1996 and 2009. He was President of the International Commission of Jurists (1995-98) and from 2009 to 2011 was a member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group.
Michael Manley -  Michael Manley (1924-1997). Jamaican politician, twice served as Prime Minister (1972-1980, 1989-1992). A member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.
Michael Meadowcroft -  Michael Meadowcroft (b.1942) is a British political figure who served as leader of the reformed Liberal Party - founded in opposition to the emergence of the Liberal Democrats - from 1989 to 2002. Meadowcroft was a Member of Parliament for Leeds West from 1983 to 1987.
Michael Palliser -  Sir Arthur Michael Palliser (1922-2012) was a senior British diplomat who served as Permanent Under-Secretary of State and Head of the Diplomatic Service from 1975 to 1982. Palliser joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1947 and held posts in Athens, Paris and Dakar. In London, he served as Head of the Policy Planning Staff, and, in 1966, was appointed Foreign Affairs Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. In 1973 he became the first British Permanent Representative to the European Communities.
Mick Shann -  Sir Keith ‘Mick’ Shann (1917-1988) was an Australian public servant and diplomat who served as Australian Ambassador to the Philippines (1957-59), Indonesia (1962-66) and Japan (1973-77). He was subsequently Chairman of the Public Services Board (1977-78).
Mike Faber -  Professor Michael Faber (1929-2015) was a British economist and international civil servant who twice served as Director of the Technical Assistance Group of the Commonwealth Secretariat (1972-75 and 1978-82). In the 1960s, Faber worked for the Ministry of Finance in a newly-independent Zambia while advising Kenneth Kaunda’s government on the expansion of education provisions in the country. In 1982, Faber founded the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.
Mike Terry -  Mike Terry (1947-2008). British anti-apartheid campaigner.
Miles Hudson -  Miles Hudson is a British writer and political figure, who served as Political Secretary to Sir Alec Douglas Home in the Foreign Office. He was Director of the Conservative Group for Europe during the 1975 Referendum Campaign.
Millbrook Declaration -  The Millbrook Declaration (1995) is a Commonwealth policy programme, announced at the end of the New Zealand CHOGM. It was designed to uphold the Harare Declaration (1991). Click here to read the Declaration in full.
Millennium Development Goals -  The Millennium Development Goals are a series of eight development goals adopted in 2000 following the United Nations Millennium Summit.
Milton Obote -  Milton Obote (1925-2005). Ugandan politician, Prime Minister (1962-1966) and President (1966-1971, 1980-1985).
Ministerial Group on Small States -  Formed in 1985 to discuss issues of significance to small states.
Missouri Sherman-Peter -  A Missouri Sherman-Peter is a Bahamian diplomat who served her country as Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (1988-94) and as High Commissioner to Canada (1997-2000). Sherman-Peter was Assistant Director, Political Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat, from 1994 to 1997. In 2014 she was appointed Permanent Observer of the Caribbean Community to the United Nations.
Mmabatho airport -  An airport in northern South Africa.
MN Venkatachaliah -  Manepalli Narayana Rao Venkatachaliah (b.1929) is an Indian jurist who served as Chief Justice of India from 1993 to 1994. Venkatachaliah had become Judge of the Supreme Court of India in 1987, and later served as Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission from 1996 to 1998.
Mo Ibrahim Index of African Countries -  The Ibrahim Index of African Countries is a statistical measure of levels of governance of all African countries. The four overarching measures are safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human development.
- Synonyms: Ibrahim Index of African Countries
MoD -  Ministry of Defence. British government ministry with responsibility for the armed forces, created in its current form in 1964, with predecessor institutions from the 1930s.
Modi -  Narendra Damodardas Modi (b.1950) is an Indian politician and leader of the Bharatiya Janaa Party (BJP). He was elected Prime Minister of India in 2014, having previously served as Chief Minister of Gujarat (2001-14).
Mohamed Ibn Chambas -  Mohamed Ibn Chambas (b.1950) is a Ghanian lawyer, diplomat and politician who was appointed Deputy Foreign Secretary in 1987. He acted as an international mediator during the First Liberian Civil War and later during the Ivorian Civil War. Chambas was elected Executive Secretary (later ‘President’) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in 2002, serving until 2010. In 2010 he was appointed 8th Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States.
Mohamed Nasheed -  Mohamed Nasheed (b.1967) is a Maldivian politician and human rights activist who served as his country’s President from 2008 to 2012. Nasheed, one of the founders of the Maldivian Democratic Party, resigned from the Presidency in 2012 following threats from opposition forces in the police and military.
Mohan Kaul -  Mohan Kaul was a director and senior member of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and, since its formation in 1997, has been Director-General of the Commonwealth Business Council.
Montek Singh Ahluwalia -  Montek Singh Ahluwalia (b.1943) is an Indian economist who served as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission in India from 2004 to 2014. Ahluwalia had previously worked for the International Monetary Fund as Director of the Independent Evaluation Office (2001-04), having held several senior positions as a civil servant in the Indian Ministry of Finance, which he joined in 1979.
Morarji Desai -  Morarji Desai (1896-1995) was an Indian political figure who served as fifth Prime Minister of India (1977-79). His tenure as Prime Minister came at the end of a period of Emergency rule (1975-77) instigated by Indira Gandhi, with Desai winning the election as head of the opposition Janata Party and thus becoming the first non-Congress government leader in India’s post-independence history.
Morgan Tsvangirai -  Morgan Tsvangirai (b.1952). Zimbabwean politician noted for his opposition to Robert Mugabe. Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (2009-2013).
Morshed Khan -  Morshed Khan (b.1940) was Foreign Minister of Bangladesh from 2001 to 2006. He had previously served as a Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh in the 1990s, and, prior to joining politics, Khan was a successful businessman in mobile phone, automotive and financial industries.
Moses Anafu -  Moses Anafu is a Ghanian diplomat who joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1979 as Research Officer in the International Affairs Division. He was appointed Chief Research Officer in 1987 and served as Assistant Director, Political Affairs Department from 1990 to 2000. He was the Secretary General's Special Envoy to South Africa from 1991 to 1994. Anafu has also advised the UNDP on questions of governance in Africa.
Moses Kotane -  Moses Kotane (1905-1978) was a South African political figure who served as Secretary General of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from 1939 until 1978. Kotane was also involved with the African National Congress, within which he acted as Treasurer General from 1963 to 1973. He attended the 1955 Asian-African Conference in Bandung, Indonesia.
Moshi Conference -  The Moshi Conference was a meeting of twenty-five Ugandan opposition groups in the Tanzanian town of Moshi, 23-25 March 1979. It was chaired by Dr Tarsis B Kabwegyere and the object was to organise the variant strands of mobilization in exile into a concerted plan to oust Ugandan President Idi Amin. A Military Commission was organised with Paulo Muwanga as Chairman and Yoweri Museveni as Vice-Chairman. The National Consultative Commission was established as supreme organ of the Uganda National Liberation Front (UNLF), with Yusuf Lule as Chairman of the National Executive Council.
Moshoeshoe II -  Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (1938-1996) was King of Lesotho from 1996 until 1990 when he was exiled to the United Kingdom by a military junta. He returned in 1995 as King but died in a car accident a year later.
MOSOP -  Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People. An organisation which campaigns for the rights of the Ogoni people of southeast Nigeria, founded in 1990.
Mossgas -  Mossgas (Pty) Limited was an oil and gas company responsible for a controversial fuel-from-gas project near Mossel Bay, Southern Cape. Established in 1989, it was originally planned by the South African government as an alternative energy resource while the apartheid regime was facing international oil sanctions. In 2002, Mossgas merged with Soekor (Pty) Ltd and parts of the Strategic Fuel Fund Association to establish The Petroleum, Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA).
Moto -  Moto is a Zimbabwean newspaper founded in 1959 by the Catholic Church.
Moussa Koussa -  Moussa Muhammad Koussa (b.1947) is a Libyan politician and diplomat who served as head of the Libyan Intelligence Agency from 1994 to 2009 and Minister of Foreign Affiars from 2009 to 2011. During the Civil War in 2011, Koussa fled to the UK via Tunisia, before relocating to Qatar.
Movement for Multiparty Democracy -  The Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) is a Zambian political party. It was founded in 1990 as a coalition grouping opposed to the ruling UNIP. It won the 1991 election, defeating UNIP.
- Synonyms: MMD
Mozambique Fund -  The Special Commonwealth Fund for Mozambique, established in 1987.
MPLA -  People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party is an Angolan political party founded in 1956. It has ruled since Angola gained independence from Portugal. It fought against UNITA during the Angolan Civil War (1975-2002).
Mswati -  Mswati III (b.1968) is King of Saziland and head of the Swazi Royal Family. He was crowned in this position in April 1986 at the age of 18 and has attracted criticism for ruling the country as an absolute monarch.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah -  Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876-1948) was a lawyer and politician who led the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the establishment of Pakistan in 1947. He was the first Governor-General of Pakistan (1947-48) and is referred to as Quaid-i-Azam, the Great Leader.
- Synonyms: Jinnah
Muhammad Yunus -  Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940). Bangladeshi entrepreneur and a pioneer of microcredit and microfinance.
Multi Fibre Arrangement -  The Multi Fibre Arrangement was an agreement regulating the world trade in textiles from 1974 to 2004. It was introduced in 1974 to manage the perceived advantage of developing countries in textile production, due to the fact that labour costs remained low in comparison to the developed world. In 2005, the textile trade was brought under the jurisdiction of the World Trade Organisation.
Mulungushi Minute -  The ‘Mulungushi Minute on the Establishment of a Joint South African-Angolan Monitoring Commission’ was an agreement that emerged from the February 1984 Lusaka Accords, outlining a disengagement process for South African troops in Angola that would stretch for fourteen months following the declaration of a ceasefire.
Muluzi -  Elson Bakili Muluzi (b. 1943). Malawian politician. He founded the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1992 and was President of Malawi, 1994-2004.
Musa Hitam -  Tun Musa bin Hitam (b.1934) was Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 to 1986, serving under Mahathir bin Mohamad. From 1990-91 he was Malaysia’s Special Envoy to the United Nations and, in 1995, was appointed as Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG).
Musawah movement -  Musawah is a global coalition of NGOs, activists, scholars, legal practitioners and policy makers that focuses its work on promoting equality and justice in the Muslim family. It was launched at a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February 2009. Its Director is the prominent Malaysian activist Zainah Anwar.
Musonge -  Peter Mafany Musonge (b.1932) was Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1996 to 2004. He was appointed Grand Chancellor of National Orders by Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, in 2007, and continues to serve on the Central Committee of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement.
Mustafizur Rahman -  Mustafizur Rahman (1940-1999) was a Bangladeshi diplomat who served as his country’s Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 1999. Rahman was previously High Commissioner to Malaysia (1981-84), Ambassador to Myanmar (1984-87) and Ambassador to the USSR and China.
Musuveni -  Yoweri Kaguta Musuveni was a member of the Front for National Liberation in the war to oppose Ugandan military leader Idi Amin during the 1970s. He later formed the Popular Resistance Army to lead struggles against Dr Milton Obote’s regime, and became President of Uganda in 1986, a position he continues to hold.
Muthaiga Club -  The Muthaiga Club is a country club in Nairobi, Kenya. It opened in 1913 and acted as a gathering place for the country’s white elite society.
Muttiah Muralitharan -  Muttiah Muralitharan (b.1972) is a Sri Lankan cricketer who is considered one of the most successful bowlers in the history of the game. Muralitharan played internationally for Sri Lanka from 1992 to 2011, and has played for domestic teams in Sri Lanka, England, India, Australia and Jamaica.
Mwai Kibaki -  Mwai Kibaki (b. 1931). Kenyan politician and President (2002-2013).
- Synonyms: Kibaki
Mwalimu -  ‘Mwalimu’ is a Swahili honorific which translates as ‘teacher’. It is often associated with Julius Nyerere (1922-99), the first President of Tanzania, who had worked as a teacher before joining politics. He is also known as ‘Baba wa Taifa’, or ‘Father of the Nation’.
Mwanawasa -  Levy Patrick Mwanawasa (1948-2008). Zambian politician. A Member of the MMP, he was President of Zambia, 2002-08.