Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama was Botswana’s first president, leading the country from independence in 1966 until his death in 1980. He helped establish its parliamentary democracy and guide its early economic development.

Bangwato: The Tswana-speaking people whose traditional polity was ruled by the Kgosi of the Bangwato. Khama inherited the Bangwato chieftaincy, making his marriage and exile a political crisis.
Botswana Democratic Party: A political party founded in 1962 that has governed Botswana since independence. Khama founded the party and led it to victory in the 1965 election.
Botswana's economic history: The history of Botswana’s economy, including its transformation through diamond mining after independence. Khama’s government negotiated mining arrangements and invested revenues in public development.
Interracial marriage: Marriage between people socially classified as belonging to different racial groups. Khama’s marriage became a public test of racial attitudes in Britain and southern Africa.
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama: The full formal name of Seretse Khama, Botswana’s first president. This formal name appears in state honors and distinguishes the president from other members of the Khama family.
Bamangwato Reserve: A territory in the Bechuanaland Protectorate set aside for the Bangwato people. This was the homeland whose leadership Khama was barred from exercising during exile.
Constitution of Botswana: Botswana’s supreme law, establishing its institutions of government and protecting fundamental rights. The constitutional framework gave Khama’s government a parliamentary system after independence.
Botswana–South Africa relations: The political and economic relationship between Botswana and South Africa. Khama pursued regional cooperation while Botswana remained surrounded by apartheid-era South Africa.
Apartheid: A system of institutionalized racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. Botswana’s multiracial constitutional politics stood in marked contrast to its powerful apartheid-era neighbor.
Gaseitsiwe Khama: A Bangwato kgosi who ruled in the nineteenth century and was Seretse Khama’s great-grandfather. His lineage helps explain the hereditary basis of Seretse Khama’s claim to chieftaincy.

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