Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. As an enclave of South Africa, with which it shares a 1,106 km border, it is the only sovereign enclave in the world outside of the Italian Peninsula. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest peak in Southern Africa. It has an area of over 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) and has a population of about 2 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru.
The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 400 years. Present Lesotho emerged as a single polity under King Moshoeshoe I in 1822. Under Moshoeshoe I, Basotho joined other clans in their struggle against the Lifaqane associated with famine and the reign of Shaka Zulu from 1818 to 1828.
Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili is a former Mosotho politician who was the fourth prime minister of Lesotho from May 1998 to June 2012 and again from March 2015 to June 2017. He led the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) to a near-total victory in the 1998 election, and under his leadership the party also won majorities in the 2002 and 2007 elections. While serving as Prime Minister, Mosisili was also Minister of Defence.
The Southern African Development Community intervention in Lesotho, codenamed Operation Boleas, also called the South African Invasion of Lesotho, was a military invasion launched by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and led by South Africa through its South African National Defence Force into Lesotho to quell unrest after the 1998 elections.
The Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) is a political party in Lesotho.
Thomas Motsoahae Thabane is a Mosotho politician who was the fifth prime minister of Lesotho from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. He founded the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022.
Lesotho elects a legislature on the national level. The Parliament has two chambers: the National Assembly with 120 members, elected for a five-year term by Mixed Member Proportional Representation, 80 of which in single-seat constituencies; and the Senate, with 33 nominated members.
Ntlhoi Motsamai is a Lesotho politician who served as the first female Speaker of the National Assembly from 1999 to 2012. She was elected again from March 2015 to June 2017. Motsamai worked as a teacher before entering politics.
The All Basotho Convention is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and founded by Tom Thabane, a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili. Nkaku Kabi has led the party since February 2022.
The People's Republic of China and Lesotho maintain historical, political, economic, trade, aid, healthcare and migration connections.
On 30 August 2014, Lesotho's Prime Minister Tom Thabane alleged that a coup d'état had been launched against him. This followed a previous allegation which caused him to suspend parliament over possible extra-constitutional manoeuvres. It also followed pressure from South Africa to maintain the democratic process. The next day, Deputy Prime Minister Mothetjoa Metsing assumed responsibility for running the government. An early election was held in February 2015 as a result of South African-led Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediation, giving power to the opposition.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 28 February 2015 for all 120 seats of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho, more than two years ahead of schedule due to the 2014 political crisis. Following mediation facilitated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC), King Letsie III on the advice of the incumbent Prime Minister Tom Thabane, dissolved the Eighth Parliament and called a snap election.
Mothetjoa Metsing is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho. He is a member and current leader of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He served in the government of Prime Minister Tom Thabane between 2012 and 2015. In 2014, he was involved in controversy over an alleged coup attempt against the prime minister that was eventually resolved over calls for an early election.
'Maesaiah or 'Maesiah Thabane is the wife of the former prime minister of Lesotho Tom Thabane since her marriage to Thabane on 27 August 2017.
The COVID-19 pandemic in Lesotho is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus was confirmed to have reached Lesotho on 13 May 2020.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 7 October 2022 to elect all 120 members of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Lesotho.
The Socialist Revolutionaries is a political party in Lesotho founded in October 2017 by Teboho Mojapela, a former member of the ABC. The party was registered on 28 January 2018.
Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane is a Mosotho businessman and politician who is the current Prime Minister of Lesotho. Prior to running, he was considered to be the richest person in the country. Matekane made his fortune in diamond mining, as well as through government issued construction contracts. He founded his company, Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) in 1986.
