Sir Seretse Khama History Home Page | Site Index | "Nation without a past" quote A brief biography of Sir Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president: Seretse Khama (1921-80), founding President of Botswana, 1966-80. He inherited an impoverished and internationally obscure state from British rule, and left an increasingly democratic and prosperous country with a significant role in Southern Africa. Seretse Khama was born on 1 July 1921 at Serowe in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland. He was was the son of Sekgoma Khama, and the grandson of the internationally famous Kgosi Khama III (c.1835-1923), ruler of the Bangwato people of central Botswana. He was named Seretse-the clay that binds together-because of the recent reconciliation between his father and grandfather. Seretse's mother, Tebogo Kebailele, had been chosen by Khama to be the new wife of the ageing Sekgoma. When Sekgoma died in 1925, four-year old Seretse was proclaimed Kgosi.

His uncle Tshekedi Khama became regent and later sole guardian for him. The lonely and often sickly child was sent to boarding schools in South Africa, but developed into a healthy and gregarious adolescent sportsman. He attended Fort Hare University College and graduated with a general BA degree in 1944. In August 1945 he was sent to England for a legal education. After a year at Balliol College, Oxford, he enrolled for barrister studies at the Inner Temple, London. In 1947 Seretse Khama met an English woman of his age, Ruth Williams, daughter of a retired army officer. They were married in September 1948. Uncle Tshekedi ordered Seretse home to berate him and demand a divorce. But, after a series of public meetings in Serowe, Seretse turned his people against Tshekedi, and was popularly recognised as Kgosi together with his wife. Tshekedi gave way and went into self-exile. The proclamation of a black chief with a white wife, in a territory strategically placed between South Africa and the Rhodesias, caused outcry among white settler politicians.

South Africa had come under the control of white Afrikaner nationalists in 1948. The British were told that there was no chance of the pro-British opposition party winning the next all-white election in South Africa, if Seretse Khama was allowed to be chief of the Bangwato. The Labour government in Britain desperately needed South African gold and uranium. It agreed to bar Seretse Khama from chieftainship. The Commonwealth relations minister denied that the government was bowing to racism, and lied about this before the House of Commons. A judicial enquiry was set up to prove Seretse's personal unfitness to rule. However, Justice Harragin concluded that Seretse was eminently fit to rule. His report was therefore suppressed by the British government for thirty years. Seretse and his wife were exiled to England in 1951, and in 1952 the new Conservative government declared the exile permanent.

The treatment of Seretse and Ruth Khama by British governments received international press coverage, and outrage was expressed by a wide range of people including human-rights activists, Scottish, West African, Indian and West Indian nationalists, British communists, and conservatives who supported the principle of aristocratic inheritance. Eventually, in 1956, a new Commonwealth relations minister realised that Britain must distance itself from institutionalized racism in South Africa, and decided to allow Seretse and Ruth home as commoners and private citizens. Back home, Seretse Khama was still respected as a man of principle and integrity, but was generally seen as being out-of-touch and a yesterday's man. He was a not too successful cattle rancher and dabbler in local politics, and declined in health until incipient diabetes was diagnosed in 1960. Then, however, much to everyone's surprise, in 1961 he was suddenly energized as a nationalist politician. The Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP), with Seretse Khama at its head, drew overwhelming support from rural progressives and conservatives alike.

The liberal-democratic BDP swept aside its pan-Africanist and socialist rivals in the small railway towns, to win the first universal franchise elections of 1965. Seretse Khama became prime minister and then, on 30 September 1966, president of the Republic of Botswana. President Khama and the new republic began with an international image problem. It was widely assumed that his country had no option but to sell-out to its all-powerful white neighbours, South Africa (including South-West Africa) and Southern Rhodesia. Botswana was believed to be the poorest country in Africa. The new government could not cover the costs of administration from taxes, and was continually indebted to Britain. The first task was to lay the groundwork for an export-oriented economy, based on beef processing and copper and diamond mining. President Khama then turned his personal attention to foreign policy, seeking out allies such as President Kaunda of Zambia to break Botswana free from its image of being a docile 'hostage' state.

He also used his unique authority to develop local democracy and quash the powers of traditional chiefs, to develop citizen administrative capacity without over-bureaucratization, and to promote the rule of law in the operations of the state. Though Botswana came to be described as a 'paternalist democracy' under the dominance of one political party, it succeded in establishing itself as both prosperous and peaceful. Between 1966 and 1980 Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world. It also came to be seen a remarkable state with high principles, upholding liberal democracy and non-racialism in the midst of a region embroiled in civil war, racial enmity and corruption. State mineral revenues were invested in infrastructural development, education and health, and in subsidies to cattle production. The result was a great increase in general prosperity, in rural as well as urban areas, though with inequities that were to become increasing apparent after the death of Seretse Khama. Seretse Khama was known for his intelligence and integrity, and a wicked sense of humour --puncturing the pomposity of those who had too high an opinion of themselves.

He also went through cycles of ill-health and depression, exacerbated by diabetes. He underwent intensive medical treatment in 1968-69 and in 1976-77, when he was fitted with a heart pacemaker, but bounced back energetically in both cases with an innovative period lasting for years. His wife, Ruth Khama, remained the guardian of his health and homelife, but had relatively little influence on his politics. In his last years Seretse Khama looked increasingly outwards and onwards. He was one of the "Front-Line Presidents" who negotiated the future of Zimbabwe and Namibia. He developed a vision of the future of Southern Africa after colonialism and apartheid, as a peaceful, democratic and prosperous region. He was thus the key founder of what has since become the Southern African Development Community. The rigours of constant travel by air for international negotiations, leading up to the independence of Zimbabwe, finally exhausted Seretse Khama. But he had the final satisfaction of witnessing both the independence of Zimbabwe in March 1980 and the launching of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference in April, before his death on 13 July 1980.

He was buried in the Khama family graveyard, on the hill at Serowe overlooking his birthplace. Neil Parsons We were taught, sometimes in a very positive way, to despise ourselves and our ways of life. We were made to believe that we had no past to speak of, no history to boast of. The past, so far as we were concerned, was just a blank and nothing more. Only the present mattered and we had very little control over it. It seemed we were in for a definite period of foreign tutelage, without any hope of our ever again becoming our own masters. The end result of all this was that our self-pride and our self-confidence were badly undermined. It should now be our intention to try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own history books to prove that we did have a past, and that it was a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul.

(Sir Seretse Khama, speech of Chancellor at University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland graduation ceremony, 15 May 1970; Botswana Daily News Biography of the African statesman: Sir Seretse Khama African History Expert By Alistair Boddy-Evans Seretse Khama was the first prime minister of Botswana, and from 1966 to his death in 1980, he served as the country's first president. Date of Birth: 1 July 1921, Serowe, Bechuanaland. Date of Death: 13 July 1980. An Early Life Seretse (the name means "the clay that binds together") Khama was born in Serowe, British Protectorate of Bechunaland, on 1 July 1921. His grandfather, Kgama III, was paramount chief (Kgosi) of the Bama-Ngwato, part of the Tswana people of the region.

Kgama III had traveled to London in 1885, leading a delegation which asked for Crown protection to be given to Bechuanaland, foiling the empire building ambitions of Cecil Rhodes and the incursions of the Boers. Kgosi of the Bama-Ngwato Kgama III died in 1923 and the paramountcy briefly passed to his son Sekgoma II, who died a couple of years later (in 1925). At the age of four Seretse Khama effectively became Kgosi and his uncle Tshekedi Khama was made regent. Studying at Oxford and London Seretse Khama was educated in South Africa and graduated from Fort Hare College in 1944 with a BA. continue reading below our video Test Your General Science Knowledge In 1945 he left for England to study law -- Initially for a year at Balliol College, Oxford, and then at the Inner Temple, London. In June 1947 Seretse Khama first met Ruth Williams, a WAAF ambulance driver during World War II now working as a clerk at Lloyds. Their marriage in September 1948 threw southern Africa into political turmoil.

Repercussions for a Mixed Marriage The Apartheid government in South Africa had banned inter-racial marriages and the marriage of a black chief to a British white woman was a problem. The British government feared that South Africa would invade Bechuanaland or that it would immediately move for full independence. This was a concern because Britain was still heavily in debt after World War II and could not afford to lose the mineral wealth of South Africa, especially gold and uranium (needed for Britain's atomic bomb projects). Back in Bechuanaland Tshekedi was annoyed -- he attempted to disrupt the marriage and demanding that Seretse return home to have it annulled. Seretse came back immediately and was received by Tshekedi with the words "You Seretse, come here ruined by others, not by me." Seretse fought hard to persuade the Bama-Ngwato people of his continued suitability as chief, and on 21 June 1949 at a Kgotla (a meeting of the elders) he was declared Kgosi, and his new wife was warmly welcomed.

Fit To Rule Seretse Khama returned to Britain to continue with his law studies, but was met with a Parliamentary investigation into his suitability for the chieftaincy -- whilst Bechuanaland was under its protection, Britain claimed the right to ratify any succession. Unfortunately for the government, the investigation's report concluded that Seretse was "eminently fit to rule" -- it was kept suppressed for thirty years. Seretse and his wife were banished him from Bechuanaland in 1950. Nationalist Hero Under international pressure for its apparent racism, Britain relented and allowed Seretse Khama and his wife to return to Bechuanaland in 1956, but only if both he and his uncle renounced their claim to the chieftaincy. What hadn't been expected was the political acclaim that six years exile had given him back home -- Seretse Khama was acclaimed as a nationalist hero. In 1962 Seretse founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party and campaigned for multi-racial reform. Elected Prime Minister High on Seretse Khama's agenda was a need for democratic self-government, and he pushed the British authorities hard for independence.

In 1965 the center of Bechuanaland government was moved from Mafikeng, in South Africa, to the newly established capital of Gaborone  and Seretse Khama was elected as Prime Minister. When the country achieved independence on 30 September 1966, Seretse became the first president of the Republic of Botswana. He was re-elected twice and died in office in 1980. President of Botswana "We stand virtually alone in our belief that a non-racial society can work now, but there are those .. who will be only too delighted to see our experiment fail." Seretse Khama used his influence with the country's various ethnic groups and traditional chiefs to create a strong, democratic government. During his rule Botswana had the most rapidly growing economy of the world (remember it started very low) and the discovery of diamond deposits allowed the government to finance the creation of a new social infrastructure. The country's second major export resource, beef, allowed for the development of wealthy entrepreneurs.

Whilst in power Seretse Khama refused to allow neighbouring liberation movements to establish camps in Botswana, but permitted transit to camps in Zambia -- this resulted in several raids from South Africa and Rhodesia. He also played a prominent role in the negotiated transition from White minority rule in Rhodesia to multi-racial rule in Zimbabwe. He was also a key negotiant in the creation of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) which was launched in April 1980, shortly before his death. On 13 July 1980 Seretse Khama died in office of pancreatic cancer. Quett Ketumile Joni Masire, his vice president, took office and served (with re-election) until March 1998. Since Seretse Khama's death, Batswanan politicians and cattle barons have begun to dominate the country's economy, to the detriment of the working classes. The situation is more serious for the minority Bushman peoples (Basarwa Herero, etc) which form only 6% of the country's population, with pressure for land around the Okavango Delta increasing as cattle ranchers and mines move in.

President Seretse Khama | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Biographies » President Seretse Khama President Seretse Khama Posted by Anonymous (not verified) on People category: Seretse Khama was the chief of the Bama-Ngwato tribe, Bechuanaland (now Botswana). Title: Location of death: Gabarone, Botswana Seretse Khama was born on 1 July 1921 at Serowe, Bechuanaland (now Botswana). His grandfather was Kgosi (King) Khama III, known as Khama the Good, the ruler of the Bangwato people. Under his rule and with his approval, Bechuanaland had been put under British protection in the 19th century. Seretse’s name means ‘the clay that binds’, and referred to the reconciliation after a rift between his father and grandfather. In 1925 Seretse Khama succeeded his father to the throne, but his uncle Tshekedi Khama became the new four year-old Kgosi’s regent and guardian.

Seretse was sent to South Africa for his education, and in 1944 he graduated with a BA degree from Fort Hare University College. He then left to further his studies in law in England, first at Balliol College, Oxford, then at Inner Temple, London. In 1947 he met Ruth Williams, the daughter of a retired army officer. They were married in September 1948. Seretse’s Uncle Tshekedi ordered him to come home so that he could rebuke him for his marriage to a White woman. He wanted Seretse to get a divorce, but Seretse managed to win the people’s favour. He was recognised as Kgosi, and Ruth as his wife. South Africa was not prepared to accept this in an area that was so strategically placed between them and Rhodesia, and bargained with Britain not to allow Seretse’s chieftaincy. Consequently, he was exiled to England in 1951. But five years later a new Commonwealth minister decided to distance Britain from South Africa’s racist policies, and Seretse and Ruth were allowed back into Bechuanaland, but only as normal citizens.

Here he tried his hand at cattle farming and local politics, but many saw him as out-of-touch with current affairs. His health, which had bothered him as a child already, was growing worse and in 1960 he was diagnosed with diabetes. This setback did not prevent him from making a political comeback, however: soon afterwards he became the leader of the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP), which drew large support from both progressive and conservative circles. In 1965 the BDP won the elections, and Seretse Khama became Prime Minister. The next year, Bechuanaland gained its independence from Britain. The new republic’s name was changed to Botswana, and Seretse Khama became its first President. The country inherited by President Khama was riven with problems. At the time, it was probably Africa’s poorest country, greatly indebted to Britain and surrounded by White-ruled states. But Khama refused to submit to their control, and under his rule Botswana’s economy, administration and relations with other Black African states were repaired and developed. During his time as President Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world.

It was a period of much civil strife in Africa, but Botswana remained free from war and corruption. In his last years he played an important role in southern African politics when he negotiated the future of Zimbabwe and South West Africa/Namibia and developed a vision of a southern Africa post-colonialism and post–apartheid, seen to be a key part in the development of the Southern African Development Community that has since been founded. Khama’s health continued to bother him. He received frequent and intensive medical treatment, and on 13 July 1980 he died in Gabarone, Botswana. Before his death, however, he did see Zimbabwe’s independence and the launching of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) in April 1980. 1 July (his birthdate) is celebrated as a public holiday in Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama Day. Below is Seretse Khama’s view on history, quoted from a speech at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland in 1970: "in a very positive way, to despise ourselves and our ways of life.

We were made to believe that we had no past to speak of, no history to boast of. The past, so far as we were concerned, was just a blank and nothing more. Only the present mattered and we had very little control over it. It seemed we were in for a definite period of foreign tutelage, without any hope of our ever again becoming our own masters. The end result of all this was that our self-pride and our self-confidence were badly undermined. It should now be our intention to try to retrieve what we can of our past. We should write our own history books to prove that we did have a past, and that it was a past that was just as worth writing and learning about as any other. We must do this for the simple reason that a nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul".

References: • Seretse Khama - A brief biography of Sir Seretse Khama, Botswana's first president: Avaliable at: ubh.tripod.com [Accessed 1 October 2009] Further Reading: Seretse Khama: The drama of a royal romance in Botswana - BBC News BBC News Media playback is unsupported on your device Seretse Khama: The drama of a royal romance in Botswana 24 November 2011 Last updated at 14:34 GMT A play about Botswana's first President, Seretse Khama, whose marriage to a white English woman while he was still a student caused a political storm in the UK and Africa, has been shown off Broadway in New York . Prince Seretse Khama met Ruth William while he was attending law school in London and she was working as a clerk. Both the UK and South Africa exerted pressure to have his tribal titles removed, and they eventually managed to do so, but when Botswana gained independence in 1966 he became the new country's president and she the first lady.

The BBC's Leslie Goffe went along to see the play, Blue, Black and White, and to talk to its writer and star, Botswana's Donald Molosi, about this and his other works. For more African news from the BBC download the Africa Today podcast . Seretse Khama Ian Khama's Profile, Biography & Heritage - Katagogi Biography of Seretse Khama Ian Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama is the President of Botswana and the Paramount Chief of the Bamangwato tribe. He is the first born son of Sir Seretse Khama (the country's foremost independence leader who was President from 1966 to 1980) and Lady Khama. He was born in (b.February 27, 1953) and he married his English wife Ruth Williams, whose marriage in 1948 caused so much controversy that Seretse was banned from the Bangwato chieftainship for several years. (See New African October 2007). Sir Seretse, who became the country's first president at independence in 1966, is still much revered.

Khama, serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, announced on 16 December 1997 that he would retire from his command on 31 March 1998. Because this was the same date as the planned retirement of President Quett Masire, it fueled political speculation about Khama. On 1 April 1998, when Vice-President Festus Mogae succeeded Masire as President, Khama was appointed as the new Vice-President. However, Khama did not hold a seat in the National Assembly, and so could not immediately take office as Vice-President. In early July 1998 he overwhelmingly won a by-election in Serowe North, receiving 2,986 votes against 86 votes for the candidate of the opposition Botswana National Front. On 13 July, he took his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in as Vice-President. Following the victory of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the general election of October 1999, Khama remained Vice-President as well as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration.

Mogae granted Khama a one-year leave later in the year, a decision that the opposition Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations sharply criticized. Khama's leave became effec Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama is the President of Botswana and the Paramount Chief of the Bamangwato tribe. He is the first born son of Sir Seretse Khama (the country's foremost independence leader who was President from 1966 to 1980) and Lady Khama. He was born in (b.February 27, 1953) and he married his English wife Ruth Williams, whose marriage in 1948 caused so much controversy that Seretse was banned from the Bangwato chieftainship for several years. (See New African October 2007). Sir Seretse, who became the country's first president at independence in 1966, is still much revered. Khama, serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, announced on 16 December 1997 that he would retire from his command on 31 March 1998.

Because this was the same date as the planned retirement of President Quett Masire, it fueled political speculation about Khama. On 1 April 1998, when Vice-President Festus Mogae succeeded Masire as President, Khama was appointed as the new Vice-President. However, Khama did not hold a seat in the National Assembly, and so could not immediately take office as Vice-President. In early July 1998 he overwhelmingly won a by-election in Serowe North, receiving 2,986 votes against 86 votes for the candidate of the opposition Botswana National Front. On 13 July, he took his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in as Vice-President. Following the victory of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the general election of October 1999, Khama remained Vice-President as well as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. Mogae granted Khama a one-year leave later in the year, a decision that the opposition Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations sharply criticized. Khama's leave became effective on 1 January 2000.

He returned to his duties as Vice-President on 1 September 2000, although he was replaced as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration at that time. Khama, already a member of the BDP Central Committee, was elected as Chairman of the BDP on 22 July 2003 at a party congress; he defeated the previous Chairman, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, receiving 512 votes against 219 for Kedikilwe. Khama had been backed for the post by President Mogae, and the outcome was viewed as crucial, paving the way for Khama to eventually succeed Mogae as President. Mogae stepped down, as he had long said he would do, on 1 April 2008, handing power to Khama. At his swearing-in ceremony in Ref . EISA Botswana: Presidency of Seretse Khama (1966 - 1980) Botswana: Presidency of Seretse Khama (1966 - 1980) On obtaining independence on the 30 September 1966 the Republic of Botswana inherited very little from 80 years of British colonialism.

The belated developmental efforts of the previous decade had been too little too late, there was little in the way of government machinery or social and economic infrastructure and, with an annual per capita income of $75, Botswana was one of the ten poorest countries in the world (Murray & Parson 1990, 167; Danevad 1995, 385). The country was heavily dependent on the export of one product, beef (Munger 1965, 38). There was little industry to speak of, manufacturing accounted for 8% of GDP in 1966, and only a fraction of the population was in formal employment and the overwhelming bulk of these were migrant workers whose earnings supported a large part of the population and provided the government with its main source of income (Murray & Parson 1990, 167, 189; Danevad 1995, 386; Dale 1978, 18, 19).

At any one time an estimated 20% of the adult male population was absent and working in South Africa (Munger 1965, 39). There was 12 kms of paved road, about 2000 km of graded roads and 7200 km of track (Acemoglu et al 2001, 2; Munger 1965, 69). The British had done little to develop the health and educational systems. There were 22 African university graduates and 100 people who had completed secondary education (Acemoglu et al 2001, 2). The country had only 251 primary and nine secondary schools with less than 80 000 students enrolled of which a little more than 1000 were at secondary level, while only one third of the population could read (Meyer et al 1993, 456; Murray & Parson 1990, 167; Munger 1965, 42).

In 1965 there were but 20 students studying at university (Munger 1965, 47). In 1960 there were only 11 doctors (Murray & Parson 1990, 183). No recent censuses had been undertaken so that the population estimate was a rough 500 000 to 600 000 people in 1965, over 99% of which were Africans , though small numbers of Whites and Asians were present who dominated commerce (Munger 1965, 5). Urban settlements were small and 90% of the population was based in the rural areas (Danevad 1995, 386).

The African population was very heterogeneous, for though 85% of the population could speak Setswana it was the mother tongue of only half the population, but the traditional dominance of the Tswana over other groups enabled the government to promote Tswana as a national language alongside the official language, English; though this did not translate into active discrimination against non-Tswanas it did become an obstacle to advancement for those not fluent in the language (Acemoglu et al 2001, 10; Solway 2002, 714, 715). The government was heavily dependent on British aid to meet its spending requirements; in 1965 one third of revenue was from this source (Murray & Parson 1990, 167; Munger 1965, 71). Economic dependence on South Africa was not restricted to remittances from migrant workers, for South Africa dominated the Southern African Customs Union that supplied the country with another important source of revenue and Botswana's exports were reliant on South African infrastructure to reach their markets (Munger 1965, 71).

This situation gave the government little leeway in the development of its foreign policy, for it had to avoid antagonising the Apartheid regime. The countries sole railway line, running through the densely populated east, linked the rebel colony of Rhodesia with South Africa, giving Botswana an unwanted strategic significance to the racist states that virtually surrounded it (Land 1966, 11). As a result, despite its sympathy with the South African liberation movements, Botswana could not afford to supply them with material aid (Dale 1978, 14). Nevertheless, despite South African objections, a road was built it to Zambia to reduce dependence on Rhodesia and South Africa and in 1974 it became part of the frontline African states seeking to obtain majority rule for the White dominated south (Parsons 1999). The government of President Seretse Khama adopted a Provisional Development Plan in 1966 that, though vague on modalities beyond the reorganisation of government structures and the attraction of foreign industrial investment, was ambitious in its goals, chief of which was fiscal independence by 1971 (Murray & Parson 1990, 167).

The end of a five year drought in 1966 and substantial aid from Britain enabled the economy to recover and GDP increased from P14.5 million in 1966 to P23 million in 1968/9 and by 1972 GDP had tripled and state revenue had doubled (Murray & Parson 1990, 167, 168; Land 1966, 10). It was the development of Botswana's beef export industry and, especially after 1971, diamond mining, which provided the engines of economic expansion (Murray & Parson 1990, 168; Danevad 1995, 386).

By 1972 and the government no longer required foreign aid; a key element of this success was the renegotiation of the Southern African Customs Union agreement in 1969 that resulted in increased revenue for Botswana from P1.6 million in 1968/9 to in P12.5 million by 1972/3, providing 45% of government revenue (Murray & Parson 1990, 168; Good 1992, 75). Another element was the revenue deal made with De Beers that enabled the government to collect P2.8 million from De Beers in 1972; moreover through renegotiation of its revenue share the government's revenue rose to P18 million in 1975 (Murray & Parson 1990, 168; Good 1992, 75).

Beef exports were stimulated by the deal made with the European Economic Community in the early 1970s that enabled it to double its exports to Europe (Murray & Parson 1990, 169; Good 1992, 75). The result was that the economy grew between 12% and 13% per year enabling the government to remedy the deficiencies in administrative, social and economic infrastructure it had inherited (Parsons 1999). Government spending was directed at expanding the capacity of its administration and on education, healthcare and transport infrastructure (Murray & Parson 1990, 181). The government inherited a civil service with just 2000 employees at independence and expanded it to 21 000 by 1985, but while key positions were occupied by Batswana it continued to rely on expatriates for specialised skills (Murray & Parson 1990, 184).

Between 1966 and 1990 an average of 100 km of tarred roads were built every year (Murray & Parson 1990, 181). The government embarked on creating new education infrastructure and increasing school enrolment, especially at secondary level, so that by 1985 85% of eligible youth were in primary school, though only a third of school leavers could be accommodated at secondary level (Meyer et al 1993, 456; Murray & Parson 1990, 184). In 1980 the government was able to abolish primary school fees and secondary school fees by the end of the 1980s (Solway 2002, 716). In 1981 the University of Botswana was established (Meyer et al 1993, 456).

Until 1973 healthcare policy focused on expanding and upgrading hospitals in major centres, but in 1973 the policy shifted to primary healthcare provision through the creation of visitation posts and clinics at grass roots level so that by 1990 80% of the population lived within 15 km of a healthcare facility (Murray & Parson 1990, 184). As a result infant mortality fell from 97 to 68 per thousand between 1971 and 1981 (Murray & Parson 1990, 184). The first post independence National Assembly election was held in October 1969 (see The October 1969 General Election for details). The ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) saw its share of the vote fall from 80% to 68% and the number of its seats from 28 to 24 of 31 seats (compare 1969 National Assembly results and 1965 National Assembly results ).

The Botswana Peoples Party's (BPP) share of the vote declined from 14% to 12% but it retained its three seats. However, the Botswana National Front (BNF), formed after the previous election, won 13.5% of the vote and three seats while the Botswana Independence Party (BIP) captured 6% of the vote an won a seat for the first time. There was a remarkable drop in voter turnout in this election (from 75% to 55%, moreover large numbers of eligible voter did not register) that was explained by some analysts as the result of a widespread attitude that the President, like a chief, did not need to be re-elected and that only when a new president was chosen would it be necessary for voters to go to the polls; in essence the failure to vote amounted to an endorsement of the incumbent (Comaroff & Comaroff 1997, 137, 138).

Other commentators argued that the fall in support for the BDP was because the traditional aristocracy resented the usurpation of their governance role by the new bureaucracy and the failure of higher living standards for the majority of the population to materialise (Danevad 1995, 387, 388). The high levels of economic growth experienced did not in fact result translate into rising living standards for Botswana's rural poor who formed the vast majority of it population, but instead into growing inequality as the new wealth enriched a managerial elite and the traditional aristocracy (Murray & Parson 1990, 170). A comprehensive rural survey in 1974/5 found that two-thirds of rural households lived in poverty and 45% in extreme poverty (Parson 1984, 7; Curry 1984, 454). Moreover, the richest 10% of households had 42% of total income (Curry 1984, 454).

In the 1940s only 10% of rural households owned no stock, but by 1974 this was around 50% (Good 1992, 224). The growing poverty and inequality was attributable to the government's neglect of agriculture and of the rural areas. Between 1966 and 1973 government spending on agriculture stagnated at 5% of total capital expenditure (Curry 1984, 454). In 1973, the Accelerated Rural Development Programme (ARDP) was adopted, ostensibly to uplift the rural poor (Murray & Parson 1990, 169, 170). However, the investments made were small, though they did represent a 250% increase in rural spending, and were focused on farmers who were already in a relatively good position (Murray & Parson 1990, 170; Good 1992, 77).

More than half of development expenditure went to developing urban infrastructure and the roads connecting them, while much of the rest went on building schools, clinics and roads (Murray & Parson 1990, 170; Good 1992, 77). It seemed as if the purpose of the exercise was aimed at highly visible rural development activities aimed at the rural electorate for the upcoming 1974 elections (Good 1992, 77; Danevad 1995, 388). If this was the intention it seemed to succeed, for in the October 1974 National Assembly election (see The October 1974 General Election for details) the BDP was able to increase its share of the vote to 77% and it won 27 of the 32 seats (see Election results ). The opposition parties all lost some of their share of the vote and the BNF and BPP lost a seat each. However, voter turnout fell to 31%.

Rural spending was further stepped up a little in 1975 with the adoption of the Tribal Grazing Land Policy (TGLP) aimed at land conservation and improvement, but it was poorly controlled and implemented and became a means by which a land grab by the wealthy cattle owning elite was executed (Murray & Parson 1990, 170, 176). The policy envisaged the arrest of degradation of communal land as a result of over stocking and over grazing by the introduction of individual tenure and enclosure, but the implementation of the policy favoured the wealth at the expense of the poor (Danevad 1995, 389). While around half of rural households owned livestock in 1974 this deteriorated to 58% in 1981 and 74% in 1991 (Good 1992, 224). Between 1972 and 1983 agricultural production fell and the gap between growth in incomes earned in the rural areas and those earned in formal employment increased steadily (Danevad 1995, 387).

During the drought of 1975 the government introduced relief measures for the rural poor in the form of emergency food supplements and by the end of 1979 about 50 000 adults were eligible under the programme, but malnutrition amongst children was endemic at the end of the decade (Curry 1984, 455). The high inflationary environment of the 1970s, unleashed by the oil price shock of 1973, constrained economic growth and job creation (Murray & Parson 1990, 170, 176). The government was not able to resist wage demands in the civil service and their salaries doubled between 1974 and 1980, putting upward pressure on private sector wages and reducing resources available for development expenditure (Murray & Parson 1990, 170; Curry 1984, 454).

The government tended to take a hard line with private sector strikes, intervening in a 1974 strike by bank employees and forcing the workers to return to work empty handed, while a 1975 strike by miners at Selebi Phikwe was broken by the deployment of riot police using tear gas (Good 1992, 86). The expansion of the educational system and the rising population, without a sufficiently large increase in employment opportunities, created a growing class of youth without employment, so in 1979 the government embarked a job creation programme termed the Financial Assistance Policy (Murray & Parson 1990, 170, 176). In the late 1970s, as the liberation war in Rhodesia escalated and refugees from the 1976 student uprising in South Africa fled to Botswana, Botswana's position became more difficult (Parsons 1999). Guerrillas fleeing from Rhodesian security forces were pursued across the northern border into Botswana, leading to clashes between the Rhodesians and Botswana police (Parsons 1999; Dale 1978, 16).

In addition, youths from western Rhodesia used Botswana as a transit through to Zambia to join the liberation forces, resulting in cross-border raids by the Rhodesian security forces and in 1977 the National Assembly authorised the creation of a Defence Force to ward off these attacks (Dale 1978, 16). The situation improved greatly after Zimbabwe's independence and Khama initiated the founding the Southern African Development Coordination Conference of independent states that aimed at reducing their economic dependence on South Africa (Parsons 1999). Despite the difficulties experienced, Botswana had made considerable ground by the end of the 1970s. Domestic savings, which had been negative at independence, formed 20% of GDP in the late 1970s, the country's foreign exchange reserves began to rise and though its foreign debt escalated by 1707% between 1970 and 1984 because of high economic growth the ratio of debt service to exports was a low 4% in the late 1980s (Good 1992, 74).

The government's conservative spending pattern, relative to its escalating revenue, meant that its revenue growth usually exceeded its spending growth and it became a net saver (Danevad 1995, 387). Nevertheless the economy remained highly dependent on diamonds, beef and to a lesser extent other minerals such copper and nickel, while the contribution of manufacturing remained negligible (Dale 1978, 20). In the October 1979 National Assembly election voter registration and turnout improved substantially (turnout was 58%; see The October 1979 General Election ). Despite a slight decline in its share of the vote the BDP managed to wrest a seat each from the BPP and the BIP, bring its total to 29 and eliminating the BIP from the Assembly (see Election results for details). In July 1980 Seretse Khama died and the National Assembly elected his deputy Ketumile Masire as president in his place (Parsons 1999). References ACEMOGLU, D, JOHNSON, S & ROBINSON, JA 2001 An African Success Story: Botswana, Centre for Economic Policy Research Discussion Paper No.

3219, [www] [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). COMAROFF, JL & COMAROFF, J 1997 "Postcolonial Politics and Discourses of Democracy in Southern Africa: An Anthropological Reflection on African Political Modernities", Journal of Anthropological Research, 53(2), 123-146, [www] [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). CURRY, JR, RL 1985 "Problems Produced by the Growth Pattern of Botswana's Mineral-Based Economy: Inequities in Income, Assets and Land, Scarce Water, and Diminishing Food Crops Challenge Planners", American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 44(4), October, 449-462, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

DALE, R 1978 "The Challenges and Restraints of White Power for a Small African State: Botswana and Its Neighbors", Africa Today, 25(3), 7-23, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). DANEVAD, A 1995 "Responsiveness in Botswana Politics: Do Elections Matter?", Journal of Modern African Studies, 33(3), September, 381-402, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). GOOD, K 1992 "Interpreting the Exceptionality of Botswana", Journal of Modern African Studies, 30(1), March, 69-95, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). LAND, T 1966 "Freedom & Famine in Botswana", Africa Today, 13(5), May, 10-11, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010).

MEYER, JW, NAGEL, J & SNYDER, JR, CW 1993 "The Expansion of Mass Education in Botswana: Local and World Society Perspectives", Comparative Education Review, 37(4), November, 454-475, [www] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). MUNGER, ES 1965 Bechuanaland: Pan-African Outpost or Bantu Homeland?, Oxford Univerwsity Press, [www] [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). MURRAY, A & PARSONS, N 1990 "The Modern Economic History of Botswana" IN Konczacki, ZA, Parpart, JL, Shaw, TM (eds) Studies in the Economic History of Southern Africa, Vol 1; The Front Line states, Frank Cass Publishers.

PARSON, J 1984 "The Peasantariat and Politics: Migration, Wage Labor, and Agriculture in Botswana", Africa Today, 31(4), 5-25, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). PARSONS, N 1999 "A Brief History of Botswana", [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). SOLWAY, JS 2002 "Navigating the 'Neutral' State: 'Minority' Rights in Botswana", Journal of Southern African Studies, 28(4), December, 711-729, [www] [opens new window] (accessed 10 Mar 2010). About Botswana About Botswana About Botswana General The republic of Botswana is completely surrounded by other countries, namely Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Republic of South Africa, and is located in the south of Africa. Botswana has currently approximately 1.5 million inhabitants. The former British protectorate Bechuanaland adapted the current name after independence in 1966.

The capital and largest city of the country is Gaborone.. History In 1837, the Afrikaners were the first ones who took the current Botswana into their hands. The former Bechuanaland became part of the British protectorate in 1885, which lasted till 1966. Some years before the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was established and won the first elections. Bechuanaland became independent 30 September 1966, and Seretse Khama became first president. The name Bechuanaland was officially changed into Botswana. The post of Prime Minister is erased and Botswana became a parliament democracy. After the dead of Seretse Khama he is succeeded by Ketumile Masire. Botswana becomes member of the SADCC (South African Development Coordination Conference). In 1998 Ketumile Masire is succeeded by Festus Gontebanye Mogae. He keeps this position untill 2008. From 2008 till present Ian Khama is president of Botswana.

Geography On an average, Botswana is located at an altitude of 1000m and is mostly dry highlands. In the east of Botswana there are more hills. The Kalahari desert stretches out over the south and west of Botswana. In the north of Botswana the river Okavango flows, which end in a huge swamp, named the Okavango Delta. Climate Botswana’s climate differs per region, and depends on local rainfall. The rainfall varies in the inlands from around 20 cm per year, while in the north this is more than 64 cm rain per year. There is a subtropical climate, but there are also long dry periods. The only and best possibility for visiting National Parks in Botswana is in the dry season (May – October). Population The population of Botswana exists mainly out of the Tswana (79%), an ethnical group who speak a Bantoe language. This population is divided in eight important subgroups. There are also small numbers of Kalanga (11%), Basarwa (3%), Kgalagadi and white people. Even though English is the official language, the local Tswana language commonly used. Half of the population is Christian.

The other half believes in traditional religions. Currency The local currency is the pula. Pula means 'rain' in Setswana language. One pula is worth one hundred thebe, which means 'shield'. Kinds of coins available: 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 thebe and 1 and 2 pula. The notes are available in 10, 20, 50 and 100 pula. Up till 1920, the pound Sterling was used in Botswana, which was followed by the South African pound. In 1961 two South African pounds were traded for one South African rand. Finally, in 1976 the pula was introduced with an exchange rate of 1:1. In the area between Francistown and Gaborone there are hardly no ATM’s. It is possible to pay by credit card or exchange money at the larger accommodations, but they might ask an extra fee for this. Euro’s or US dollars can be exchanged at most of the lodges. Flora and Fauna The natural division of vegetation in Botswana depends strongly on the rain fall.

The largest part of Botswana exists of savannah areas, only small parts of Botswana exist of forests. The most appearing trees are the Acacia and Mopane trees. The largest forests can be found in the north, at the shores of the Chobe river. Botswana is known for its large diversity in animals, the most African wild species can be found here. Botswana has lately been very protective against poachers in comparison with other African countries. According to the statistics, the country has around 164 kinds of mammals, 157 kinds of reptiles, 80 kinds of fishes, 550 kinds of birds and countless sorts of insects. The government has reserved thousands of square kilometers as protected area. Some of these protected areas are Chobe National Park in the North, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Moremi Game Reserve in the Okavango Delta and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at the border of South Africa.

Language The official language is English, besides that many different local languages are spoken, such as Mbukushu, Naro, Subiya, Tswana, Kalanga (150.000 speakers), Afrikaans (20.000 speakers), Herero (20.000 speakers), and Birwa (15.000 speakers). Visa For most western countries no visa are requirred. This is the case for inhabitants of the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, USA, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, etc. All visitors do need a passport, which has to be valid for al least 6 months after departure. Valid travel and driving documents are necessary, and visitors should bring in enough money to pay for their stay in Botswana. Visitors can obtain a tourist visa for a period of maximum 90 days per calendar year. Health A journey to Botswana requires a DTP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, Polio) vaccination and in some areas Hepetitis A is advisable. When coming from a yellow fever area, a yellow fever vaccination is compulsory. The north of Botswana (f.e Okavango and Chobe) is a malaria risk area.

You can protect yourself by wearing long clothes and to use malaria profylaxes. Some medications need to be taken a while before you go, and even when you return home. For professional advice please advice your doctor or a travel clinic. Economy For the biggest part of the population, small-scale agriculture and stock-breeding is the most important source of income. In most cases, only a few people of a large family has a paid job. The rest takes care of the farm. The country’s water shortening, and a continuous lack on enough facilities have delayed agricultural growth. Only a small part of the country is cultivated. Around the time of independence, the only minerals found in Botswana were manganese, gold and asbestos. Since that time large nickel and copper sources has been found, as well as salt. There are also huge coal mines, sources of antimony, sulphur, plutonium and platin. The three diamond mines are the most important for local economy. These mines represent nowadays one of the larges diamond reserves in the world. The large number of game parks attract many tourists and are therefore also a huge income source.

Especially the Okavango Delta is internationally famous, a river that dies out in the Kalahari desert, and therefore created an enormously and unique nature area. Politics Botswana is a parliamentary republic with multiple parties, that operates under the constitution of 1966. The country is headed by a president, who is as well head of state as leader of government, and serves for a period of 5 years. At this moment, since 1 April 2008, the president is Ian khama, (party: Botswana Democratic Party). The government consists of two Chambers: one House of Chiefs, which consists of 15 seats and where the most important tribe leaders hold position. The second one is the National Assemblée, which consists of 47 seats (40 chosen, 7 named by the president) with an term of office of 5 years. The most important politic parties are the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), Botswana National Front (BNF), Botswana People’s Party (BPP) and the Botswana Independence Party (BIP).

A Brief History of Botswana A Brief History of Botswana A Brief History of Botswana Africa's Oldest Democracy By Alistair Boddy-Evans Updated January 19, 2017. The Republic of Botswana in southern Africa was once a British protectorate but now is an independent country with a stable democracy. It is also an economic success story, rising from being one of the poorest countries of the world to the middle-income level, with sound financial institutions and planning to reinvest its natural resource income. It is a landlocked country dominated by the Kalahari Desert and flatlands, rich in diamonds and other minerals. Early History and People Botswana has been inhabited by humans since the dawn of modern humans about 100,000 years ago. The San and Khoi peoples were the original inhabitants of this area and South Africa. They lived as hunter-gatherers and spoke Khoisan languages, noted for their click consonants. Migrations of People into Botswana The Great Zimbabwe empire extended into eastern Botswana a thousand years ago, and more groups migrated into the Transvaal. The area's major ethnic group is the Batswana, who were herders and farmers living in tribal groups.

continue reading below our video 4 Tips for Improving Test Performance There were larger migrations into Botswana of these people from South Africa during the Zulu wars of the early 1800s. They traded ivory and skins with the Europeans in exchange for guns and were Christianized by missionaries. British Establish the Bechuanaland Protectorate Dutch Boer settlers entered Botswana from the Transvaal, sparking hostilities with the Batswana. The leaders of the Batswana sought assistance from the British. As a result, the Bechuanaland Protectorate was esablished on March 31, 1885, including modern Botswana and parts of present-day South Africa. Pressure to Join the Union of South Africa The inhabitants of the protectorate did not want to be included in the proposed Union of South Africa when it was formed in 1910. They were successful in staving it off, but South Africa continued to pressure the UK to incorporate Bechuanaland, Basutoland, and Swaziland into South Africa. Separate advisory councils of Africans and Europeans were established in the protectorate and the tribal rule and powers were further developed and regularized.

Meanwhile, South Africa elected a nationalist government and established apartheid. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and a consultative legislative council was established by a constitution in 1961. In that year, South Africa withdrew from the British Commonwealth. Botswana Independence and Democratic Stability Independence was secured peacefully by Botswana in June 1964.They established a constitution in 1965 and held general elections to finalize independence in 1966. The first president was Seretse Khama, who was the grandson of king Khama III of the Bamangwato people and a prominent figure in the movement for independence. He was trained in law in Britain and married to a white British woman. He served three terms and died in office in 1980. His vice president, Ketumile Masire, likewise was reelected several times, followed by Festus Mogae and then Khama's son, Ian Khama. Botswana continues to have a stable democracy. Challenges for the Future Botswana is home to the world's largest diamond mine and its leaders are wary of overdependence on a single industry.

Their economic growth has raised them into the middle-income bracket, although there is still high unemployment and socio-economic stratification. A significant challenge is the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with a prevalence estimated at over 20 percent in adults, the third highest in the world.​ Source: US Department of State Background Notes

Question: In 1966, Seretse Khama became the first President of which African country?
Answer: BOTSWANA