Moutlakgola PK Nwako

Moutlakgola Palgrave Kediretswe Nwako (born August 6, 1922 in Serowe , Bechuanaland , today: Botswana ; † August 1, 2002 ) was a Botswana politician of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP).

Life

Nwako, son of a MoNgwato chief from Palapye , first attended the Khama Memorial School and the Tiger Kloof Educational Institute in Vryburg , South Africa , where Quett KJ Masire and Edison Masisi were among his fellow students. In 1950 he became treasurer of the Bamangwato Tribal Council and then treasurer of Moeng College . In 1961 he was known within the Bamangwato as a rising “radical” and part of a group of young, well-educated progressives who demanded political reforms and the return of Seretse Khama from exile. Many in this group such as Lenyeletse Seretse and Kenneth Koma belonged to the Malekantwa Regiment (Mophato) . These Malekantwa activists, along with senior figures such as Kgalemang Motsete and Leetile Raditladi, formed the Bamangwato National Congress political movement , which stood as a force between the rival camps of the senior traditionalists led by Tshekedi Khama and the pro-Seretse Khama group. He published articles under the name "Tribesman" for the newspapers Naledi va Batswana and African Echo and also corresponded with other activists of his generations in what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland .

After Nwako was elected to the executive branch of the Bamangwato Tribal Council and the new protectorate-wide Africa Council, he was invited to join the new Bechuanaland People's Party (BPP). However, he decided to help Seretse Khama found the Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP) in 1961 , and became its first vice-treasurer. In the first general election in 1965 he was elected to the National Assembly for the BDP and represented the constituency of Tswapong North for 34 years until 1999 .

At the same time, Nwako held the office of Minister of Agriculture from 1965 to 1969. After Botswana gained independence from the United Kingdom on September 30, 1966, Nwako also became Botswana's first foreign minister in the government of President Seretse Khama and held this office until he was replaced by his college friend Edison Masisi on October 23, 1969. He then served as Minister of Health from 1969 to 1977 and as Minister of Labor and Minister of the Interior from 1969 to 1974, before he was Minister for Trade and Industry in the governments of President Khama from 1977 to 1989 and then from 1980 to his former fellow student Quett KJ Masire .

Most recently, he held the post of speaker of the National Assembly from 1989 until he left politics in 1999.

Web links

• Fred Morton, Jeff Ramsay, Part Themba Mgadl: Historical Dictionary of Botswana , Scarecrow Press, 2008, p. 257, ISBN 0-8108-6404-5
• Entry in rulers.org
• Botswana: Foreign Ministers