"A nation without a past is a lost nation, and a people without a past is a people without a soul."- Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (July 1, 1921–July 13, 1980), first President of Botswana (1966 to 1980).
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Seretse Khama was born in 1921 in Serowe, in what was then the Bechuanaland Protectorate. He was the son of Queen Tebogo and Sekgoma Khama II, the paramount chief of the Bamangwato people, and the grandson of Khama III, their king.
The name "Seretse" means “the clay that binds". He was named this to celebrate the recent reconciliation of his father and grandfather; this reconciliation assured Seretse’s own ascension to the throne with his aged father’s death in 1925.
In September 1948, Khama married a British woman, Ruth Williams, after the British government had attempted to stop the marriage which initially was controversial because she was white. She became popular among his people.
Lady Khama and her husband had four children. Their first child Jacqueline was born in Bechuanaland in 1950, shortly after Seretse was exiled.
Their first son Ian was born in England in 1953, and twins Anthony and Tshekedi were born in Bechuanaland in 1958.
Khama founded the Botswana Democratic Party in 1962 and became Prime Minister in 1965. In 1966, Botswana gained independence and Khama was elected as its first president. During his presidency, the country underwent rapid economic and social progress.
At the time of its independence in 1966, Botswana was the world's third poorest country. Its infrastructure was minimal, with only 12 kilometres of paved roads; and few of its people had a formal education, with only 22 university graduates and 100 secondary school graduates.
Khama set out on a vigorous economic programme intended to transform the nation into an export-based economy, built around beef, copper, and diamonds. The 1967 discovery of Orapa’s diamond deposits aided this programme.
Khama instituted strong measures against corruption, the bane of so many other newly independent African nations. Unlike other countries in Africa, his administration adopted market-friendly policies to foster economic development.
Khama promised low and stable taxes to mining companies, liberalized trade, and increased personal freedoms. He maintained low marginal income tax rates to deter tax evasion and corruption. Khama was reelected three times easily winning the 1969, 1974, and 1979 elections.
For a number of years leading up to his death, Khama's health deteriorated. He suffered from heart and kidney ailments. In 1960 he had been diagnosed with diabetes.
In 1976, he underwent a heart operation in Johannesburg to install a pacemaker. From then on, he frequently flew to London for medical treatment.
In June 1980, he flew to London, where doctors diagnosed him with terminal pancreatic cancer.
On July 13, 1980, Khama died of pancreatic cancer. He was 59.
28 years after his death, his son, Ian succeeded Festus Mogae as the fourth President of Botswana; in the 2009 general election, he won a landslide victory. Ian Khama left office in 2018.
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, Botswana's main airport, opened in 1984, was named after him. #HistoryVille
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