Ian Khama

Ian Khama (2014)

Seretse Khama Ian Khama (also Ian a Sêrêtsê ; born February 27, 1953 in Chertsey , England ) is a politician and former commander of the Botswana Defense Force with the rank of lieutenant general . From 2008 to 2018 he was President of Botswana . As the eldest son of Sir Seretse Khama , who was the country's first political leader after independence from 1966 to 1980, and his wife Ruth Williams Khama , Ian Khama is also head of the Bamangwato ethnic group. In 2019 he left the Botswana Democratic Party and joined the opposition.

Life

Youth and military career

Khama was born as the second child of his parents then living in England. In 1956 the family moved to his father's homeland, Bechuanaland . He attended Waterford College in Swaziland . He trained as a pilot at the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was appointed Brigadier General and Deputy Commander of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) in 1977. From 1989 to 1998 he was commander of the BDF.

Vice President

Khama announced on December 16, 1997, as the then commander of the Botswana armed forces, his resignation from this post on March 31, 1998. Since this date coincided with the resignation of the then President Quett Masire , this gave rise to speculation about Khama's political career. On April 1, 1998, when the previous Vice President Festus Mogae succeeded Masire, Khama was named as the new Vice President. However, Khama was not a member of the National Assembly at the time and was therefore unable to take office immediately. At the beginning of July 1998 he won an overwhelming victory in a by-election in North Serowe . Khama received 2986 votes, the opposition candidate from the Botswana National Front received only 86 votes. On July 13, he took his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in as Vice President.

Ian Khama (left) at a meeting with U.S. Army General William E. Ward (right)

Following the victory of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the 1999 general election, Khama remained in his post as Vice-President and Minister for President and Public Administration Affairs. Some time later, Mogae granted Khama a sabbatical year , which was sharply criticized by the opposition Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations . Khama's time off took effect on January 1, 2000, and on September 1, 2000 he resumed his duties as Vice President.

Khama was already a member of the board of directors of the BDP when he was elected chairman at the party congress on July 22, 2003. In a battle vote, he defeated the previous party chairman Ponatshego Kedikilwe with 512 to 219 votes. Khama had been supported by President Mogae and the election result was seen as the first step on the way to Khama to succeed Mogae.

President of Botswana

After Mogae had announced his resignation some time ago, he handed over his office to Khama on April 1, 2008. When he was sworn in in Gaborone , Khama announced the continuity of Botswana's policy and spoke out against “radical changes”. Khama emphasized his commitment to democracy.

In the following elections in mid-October 2009, Khama was confirmed for a further five-year term by the large parliamentary majority of his BDP. Even before all constituencies were counted, the country's chief judge declared him the new president. Although he is accused internally of authoritarian leadership style, he has earned a reputation abroad since 2008, among other things because of the stable democracy and his criticism of Mugabe's dictatorship in neighboring Zimbabwe .

In June 2016, the editor and a journalist of the Botswana Sunday Standard were tried in court for inciting the president. In 2014, the journalist reported on a traffic accident in which Khama allegedly hit a driver. The process is seen as an interference with the freedom of the press , which was considered to be guaranteed in Botswana.

When China exerted pressure against a private visit by the Dalai Lama to Botswana in 2017 , Khama clearly denied this influence.

On March 31, 2018, Khama resigned as president after the constitutional maximum of ten years. His successor the following day was the former Vice President Mokgweetsi Masisi .

During his tenure, Khama was repeatedly criticized for filling important positions in the state apparatus with relatives and confidants.

After the presidency

Khama got into an argument with his successor Masisi. He tried in vain to overthrow Masisi with the candidacy of Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi as head of the party and thus also of government. Among other things, he criticized Masisi's approach to allowing elephant hunting again. Observers indicated that Khama is doing business in the tourism sector. In May 2019 he resigned from the BDP. He then recommended the election of candidates for the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change in the parliamentary elections in October 2019 and helped found the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF) party .

Others

Khama is a trained pilot who graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst . On April 29, 2013, Khama was slightly injured in the face by a cheetah in the Gaborone Game Reserve . When Khama heard of the fall of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe in 2017 , he started dancing; a video of it was shared thousands of times on social networks.

Khama is not married.

Web links

Commons : Ian Khama  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ↑ True to tradition, Khama is born to rule Botswana. Sapa-AFP ( Pretoria News ) April 1, 2008.
2. ↑ Waterford Kamhlaba background. waterford.sz (English; archive version from 2012)
3. ↑ Botswana: Army commander announces he will retire at the end of March 1998. SAPA news agency (via nl.newsbank.com), December 18, 1997.
4. ↑ Botswana: Ian Khama wins by-election and can therefore be vice-president. SAPA news agency (via nl.newsbank.com), July 6, 1998.
5. ^ Botswana: Ian Khama takes parliamentary seat, sworn in as vice-president. SAPA news agency (via nl.newsbank.com), July 13, 1998.
6. ↑ Botswana: President Mogae appoints new cabinet. Radio Botswana (via nl.newsbank.com), October 21, 1999.
7. ↑ ^{a b} Botswana: President Mogae faces court action. PANA news agency (via nl.newsbank.com), December 23, 1999.
8. ↑ ^{a b} Botswana: Vice-president's year-long sabbatical leave criticized. PANA news agency (via nl.newsbank.com), January 3, 2000.
9. ^ Botswana: Vice-president 'resumes duty'; cabinet reshuffle reported. Radio Botswana (via nl.newsbank.com), August 30, 2000.
10. ↑ ^{a b c} (en) "BOTSWANA: Feature - leadership contest may test stability" , IRIN , June 19, 2003
11. ↑ ^{a b} BOTSWANA: Khama win eases Mogae's concerns. IRIN , July 23, 2003.
12. ^ Botswana: Vice-president wins ruling party chairmanship. Business Day , Johannesburg (via nl.newsbank.com), July 22, 2003.
13. ↑ Botswana: President Mogae defends decision to back Khama for party chairmanship. Radio Botswana (nl.newsbank.com), June 19, 2003.
14. ↑ Botswana's Mogae set to retire. AFP ( IOL ) July 15, 2007.
15. ↑ New president calms nerves. ( Memento from January 10, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) AFP ( IOL ), April 1, 2008.
16. ↑ cf. Botswana's President Ian Khama confirmed in office at diepresse.com, October 18, 2009 (accessed October 18, 2009)
17. ↑ Salzb. News October 16, 2009: Botswana - a ray of hope in Africa.
18. ^ President hit in car accident while driving alone at night. subdaystandard.info of September 1, 2014 (English), accessed on May 18, 2016
19. ^ Editor charged with sedition for publishing story of Botswana president's car crash. Mail & Guardian of May 18, 2016 (English), accessed May 18, 2016
20. ↑ Dikarabo Ramadubu: 'We are not a colony of China' - Khama. In: www.botswanaguardian.co.bw. August 21, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2018 . 
21. ↑ Botswana's Khama steps down as president after a decade at helm. reuters.com of March 31, 2018 (English), accessed on March 31, 2018
22. ↑ ^{a b} Fabian Urech: Botswana's President Ian Khama is an exception in Africa - but he leaves his successor with a difficult legacy. In: www.nzz.ch. March 30, 2018, accessed April 1, 2018 . 
23. ↑ Ex-Botswana president Khama backs opposition against his successor. africanews.com, May 28, 2019, accessed May 28, 2019
24. ↑ Reuters : Botswana hold national and local elections in October. voanews.com of September 2, 2019 (English), accessed September 3, 2019
25. ^ Gordon Bell, Botswana's new leader to keep winning formula. Reuters, March 30, 2008.
26. ↑ BBC News : Botswana President Ian Khama wounded by cheetah. BBC April 29, 2013
27. ^ The politics of bachelorhood. africareview.com, March 16, 2012, accessed March 6, 2017

predecessor	Office	successor
Festus Mogae	Vice President of Botswana 1998–2008	Mompati Merafhe