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  5. Seretse Khama

Deaths on July 13

Seretse Khama
1980Jul, 13

Seretse Khama

Seretse Khama, Botswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (b. 1921)
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Botswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980.

Born into an influential royal family of what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, he was educated abroad in neighbouring country of South Africa and then in the United Kingdom. While in Britain, he married an Englishwoman named Ruth Williams, a decision opposed by the white-minority government of South Africa and which led to a controversy resulting in the British government making him stay in England in exile so as to not sour Anglo-South African relations. After the end of his exile, Khama led his country's independence movement and transition from British rule into an independent nation.

He founded the Botswana Democratic Party in 1962 and became Prime Minister in 1965. In 1966, Botswana gained independence and Khama was elected as its first president. During his presidency, the country underwent rapid economic and social progress.

References

  • Seretse Khama
  • List of heads of state of Botswana

Choose Another Date

Events on 1980

  • 26Jan

    Egypt

    Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
  • 2Feb

    United States Congress

    Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
  • 10Jun

    Nelson Mandela

    The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
  • 29Jul

    Islamic Revolution

    Iran adopts a new "holy" flag after the Islamic Revolution.
  • 9Oct

    14th Dalai Lama

    Pope John Paul II shakes hands with the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City.

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