Quett Masire
Encyclopedia
Quett Ketumile Joni Masire, GCMG
(born 23 July 1925 in Kanye, Botswana
) was the second President of Botswana
for the Botswana Democratic Party
from 1980 to 1998. He stepped down and was succeeded by the then Vice-President of Botswana
, Festus Mogae
, who became the third President of Botswana
. Prior to this, he was a leading figure in the independence movement and then the new government, and played a crucial role in facilitating and protecting Botswana’s steady financial growth and development.
In 1950, after graduating from Tiger Kloof, Masire helped found the Seepapitso II Secondary School, the first institution of higher learning in the Bangwaketse Reserve. He served as the school's headmaster for five years. During this period he clashed with Bathoen II, the autocratic Bangwaketse ruler. Resenting Bathoen's many petty interferences in school affairs, Masire, working through the revived Bechuanaland African Teachers Association, became an advocate for the autonomy of protectorate schools from chiefly authority.
In 1957 Masire earned a Master Farmers Certificate and established himself as one of the territory's leading agriculturalists. His success led to renewed conflict with the jealous Bathoen, who seized his farms as a penalty for the supposed infraction of fencing communal land.
In 1958 Masire was appointed as the protectorate reporter for the African Echo/Naledi ya Botswana newspaper. He was also elected to the newly reformed Bangwaketse Tribal Council and, after 1960, the protectorate-wide African and Legislative Councils. Although he attended the first Kanye meeting of the People's Party, the earliest nationalist grouping to enjoy a mass following in the territory, he declined to join the movement.
BDP). He was instrumental in the formation of the party, and served as its first secretary-general.
In 1965 the Democratic Party won 28 of the 31 contested seats in the new Legislative Assembly, giving it a clear mandate to lead Botswana to independence. The following year Masire became the new nation's vice-president, serving under Seretse
. Until 1980 he also occupied the significant portfolios of finance (from 1966) and development planning (from 1967), which were formally merged in 1971.
As a principal architect of Botswana's steady economic and infastructural growth between 1966 and 1980, Masire earned a reputation as a highly competent technocrat. However, his local Bangwaketse political base was eroded by his old nemesis Bathoen. During the initial years of independence the Democratic Party government moved decisively to undercut many of the residual powers of the chiefs. As a result, in 1969 Bathoen abdicated, only to reemerge as the leader of the opposition National Front. This set the stage for Bathoen's local electoral victory over Masire during the same year. However, the ruling party won decisively at the national level, thus allowing Masire to maintain his position as one of the four "specially elected" members of Parliament.
In 2007, Sir Ketumile Masire set up the Sir Ketumile Masire Foundation to promote the social and economic well being of the society of Botswana. The Foundation strives to facilitate and drive efforts to promote peace, good governance and political stability internationally; assist children with disabilities from birth; and promote innovation and alternatives in agriculture.
In May 2010 Sir Ketumile Masire led an African Union Election Observer Mission to the May 2010 Ethiopia Legislative Elections, and in October 2010 Sir Ketumile Masire co-led (with fellow GLF Member Joe Clark) a National Democratic Institute pre-election assessment mission in Nigeria, which identified a number of hurdles that could undermine a successful process surrounding the 2011 state and national polls.
He is currently the chancellor of the University of Botswana
Two Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Ohio University (1989), and the DePaul University (1994) in the United States.
Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger (1989)
Grand Counsellor of the Royal Order of Sobhuza II, Swaziland (1989)
Honorary Knighthood of the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG), UK (1991)
Namibia's Order of the Welwitschia (1995)
Order of St Michael and St George
The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III....
(born 23 July 1925 in Kanye, Botswana
Kanye, Botswana
Kanye is a town located in southern Botswana. It is the administrative center of the Southern District.Kanye is the oldest major center in Botswana, founded since 1853. It is the capital of the Bangwaketse tribe who their King is King Malope II son of Seepapitso IV. Kanye is the original village...
) was the second President of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
for the Botswana Democratic Party
Botswana Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing conservative party in Botswana. Its chairman is Daniel Kwelagobe.BDP was shaped by Sir Seretse Khama, who is celebrated for nurturing the economic and political success of Botswana. The party's base is in the traditional Setswana communities, and it...
from 1980 to 1998. He stepped down and was succeeded by the then Vice-President of Botswana
Vice-President of Botswana
The Vice-President of Botswana is the second-highest executive official in the Government of Botswana.-List of Vice-Presidents of Botswana:-See also:*Botswana**Heads of state of Botswana**Heads of government of Botswana...
, Festus Mogae
Festus Mogae
Festus Gontebanye Mogae is a Botswana politician who was President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was reelected in October 2004; after ten years in office, he stepped down in 2008 and was succeeded by Lieutenant General Ian Khama...
, who became the third President of Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
. Prior to this, he was a leading figure in the independence movement and then the new government, and played a crucial role in facilitating and protecting Botswana’s steady financial growth and development.
Early Life
Son of a minor headman, he grew up in a community where male commoners, such as himself, were expected to become low-paid migrant laborers in the mines of South Africa. From an early age Masire set himself apart through academic achievement. After graduating at the top of his class at the Kanye school, he received a scholarship to further his education at the Tiger Kloof Institute in South Africa.In 1950, after graduating from Tiger Kloof, Masire helped found the Seepapitso II Secondary School, the first institution of higher learning in the Bangwaketse Reserve. He served as the school's headmaster for five years. During this period he clashed with Bathoen II, the autocratic Bangwaketse ruler. Resenting Bathoen's many petty interferences in school affairs, Masire, working through the revived Bechuanaland African Teachers Association, became an advocate for the autonomy of protectorate schools from chiefly authority.
In 1957 Masire earned a Master Farmers Certificate and established himself as one of the territory's leading agriculturalists. His success led to renewed conflict with the jealous Bathoen, who seized his farms as a penalty for the supposed infraction of fencing communal land.
In 1958 Masire was appointed as the protectorate reporter for the African Echo/Naledi ya Botswana newspaper. He was also elected to the newly reformed Bangwaketse Tribal Council and, after 1960, the protectorate-wide African and Legislative Councils. Although he attended the first Kanye meeting of the People's Party, the earliest nationalist grouping to enjoy a mass following in the territory, he declined to join the movement.
Politics & Governance
In the 1961 Masire helped found the Botswana Democratic PartyBotswana Democratic Party
The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing conservative party in Botswana. Its chairman is Daniel Kwelagobe.BDP was shaped by Sir Seretse Khama, who is celebrated for nurturing the economic and political success of Botswana. The party's base is in the traditional Setswana communities, and it...
BDP). He was instrumental in the formation of the party, and served as its first secretary-general.
In 1965 the Democratic Party won 28 of the 31 contested seats in the new Legislative Assembly, giving it a clear mandate to lead Botswana to independence. The following year Masire became the new nation's vice-president, serving under Seretse
Seretse Khama
Sir Seretse Khama, KBE was a statesman from Botswana. Born into one of the more powerful of the royal families of what was then the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home—with a popular but controversial...
. Until 1980 he also occupied the significant portfolios of finance (from 1966) and development planning (from 1967), which were formally merged in 1971.
As a principal architect of Botswana's steady economic and infastructural growth between 1966 and 1980, Masire earned a reputation as a highly competent technocrat. However, his local Bangwaketse political base was eroded by his old nemesis Bathoen. During the initial years of independence the Democratic Party government moved decisively to undercut many of the residual powers of the chiefs. As a result, in 1969 Bathoen abdicated, only to reemerge as the leader of the opposition National Front. This set the stage for Bathoen's local electoral victory over Masire during the same year. However, the ruling party won decisively at the national level, thus allowing Masire to maintain his position as one of the four "specially elected" members of Parliament.
Presidency
Masire's terms were characterised by an emphasis on developments through regional and international organisations. Masire was chairman of the Southern African Development Community and vice chairman of the Organisation of African Unity; he was also chairman of the Global Coalition for Africa and a member of the UN group on Africa DevelopmentPost-Presidency
Since his retirement in 1998 Sir Ketumile Masire has been involved in numerous diplomatic initiatives in a number of African countries, including Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Swaziland. Between 1998 and 2000 he served as Chairman of the International Panel of Eminent Personalities Investigating the Circumstances Surrounding the 1994 Rwanda Genocide, and between 2000 – 2003 was the facilitator for the Inter-Congolese National Dialogue, which had the objective of bringing about a new political dispensation for the Democratic Republic of Congo, in terms of the Lusaka Ceasefire Accord.In 2007, Sir Ketumile Masire set up the Sir Ketumile Masire Foundation to promote the social and economic well being of the society of Botswana. The Foundation strives to facilitate and drive efforts to promote peace, good governance and political stability internationally; assist children with disabilities from birth; and promote innovation and alternatives in agriculture.
In May 2010 Sir Ketumile Masire led an African Union Election Observer Mission to the May 2010 Ethiopia Legislative Elections, and in October 2010 Sir Ketumile Masire co-led (with fellow GLF Member Joe Clark) a National Democratic Institute pre-election assessment mission in Nigeria, which identified a number of hurdles that could undermine a successful process surrounding the 2011 state and national polls.
He is currently the chancellor of the University of Botswana
University of Botswana
The University of Botswana, or UB was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has four campuses: two in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education,...
Honors & Accolades
Three Honorary Doctorates of Law (L.L.D.) from St. John University, New York, and Williams College Massachussets, in the United States (1980), and in the United Kingdom (1988)Two Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the Ohio University (1989), and the DePaul University (1994) in the United States.
Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger (1989)
Grand Counsellor of the Royal Order of Sobhuza II, Swaziland (1989)
Honorary Knighthood of the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George (GCMG), UK (1991)
Namibia's Order of the Welwitschia (1995)