Seretse Khama
1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980
Seretse Khama was a Botswanan statesman and the first President of Botswana, serving from independence in 1966 until his death in 1980. Heir to the chieftaincy of the Bamangwato, his marriage to the Englishwoman Ruth Williams in 1948 led to years of exile from the Bechuanaland Protectorate. He founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party and led the country through its first decades of independence.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Seretse Khama.
- Akio Morita (1921–1999) Overlapped 59 years →
- Alan Paton (1903–1988) Overlapped 59 years →
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) Overlapped 59 years →
- Andrei Sakharov (1921–1989) Overlapped 59 years →
- Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) Overlapped 59 years →
- Astrid Lindgren (1907–2002) Overlapped 59 years →
Life events
He was born heir to the chieftaincy of the Bamangwato people.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe took a bachelor's degree in South Africa before continuing his studies in Britain.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe spent a year at Balliol College, Oxford, then read for the bar at the Inner Temple.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe interracial marriage drew opposition from the British government and from South Africa.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgThe British government exiled him from the protectorate following the dispute over his marriage and chieftaincy.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe renounced the chieftaincy for himself and his heirs and was allowed to return to Bechuanaland.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe established the party that would lead the territory to independence.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe took office as head of state when the country became independent.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgHe hosted and supported the grouping of southern African states formed in Lusaka.
He died of pancreatic cancer while still serving as president.
Source: en.wikipedia.org