Related Research Articles
Lesotho,officially the Kingdom of Lesotho,is a landlocked country enclaved by South Africa. It is a mountainous country situated in the Maloti Mountains,and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. Lesotho has an area of just over 30,000 km2 (11,600 sq mi) and has a population of about 2 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. The official languages are Sesotho and English.
The history of people living in the area now known as Lesotho goes back as many as 400 years. The 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.
Joseph Leabua Jonathan was the second prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.
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 is leader of the All Basotho Convention (ABC) political party.
Monyane Moleleki is a Lesotho politician who has served as Deputy Prime Minister of Lesotho,as well as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs,from 2017 to 2020. As a leading figure in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD),Moleleki was Minister of Natural Resources from 1993 to 1994,Minister of Information from 1996 to 1998,Minister of Natural Resources from 1998 to 2004,Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2007,and Minister of Natural Resources from 2007 to 2012. After breaking with the LCD,Moleleki served as Deputy Leader of the Democratic Congress and was Minister of Police from 2015 to 2016. He left the Democratic Congress and launched a new party,the Alliance of Democrats,in 2017.
The Basotho National Party is a political party in Lesotho,founded in 1959 in colonial Basutoland as the Basutoland National Party by Leabua Jonathan. He was Prime Minister from 1965 until the coup of 1986.
The All Basotho Convention (ABC) is a political party in Lesotho. The party was formed in October 2006 and the head is Tom Thabane,a former minister in the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) led by the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
Pontso S. M. Sekatle is a politician and academic in Lesotho. Sekatle lectured at the National University of Lesotho from 1984 to 2001. In June 2001,she was appointed to the Senate of Lesotho,and on July 6,2001 she became Minister of Health and Social Welfare. She was a member of the Qacha's Nek constituency for third time with the win in the elections in 2012 and was appointed the Minister of Local government and Chieftainship Affairs.
General elections were held in Lesotho on 26 May 2012. The incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili's newly formed Democratic Congress won a majority of single-member seats. He also won his seat by the second-largest margin of victory. However,they only had a plurality in the overall tally and coalition talks are taking place.
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.
Early general elections were held in Lesotho on 3 June 2017 to elect all 120 seats of the National Assembly,the lower house of the Parliament. The elections were called more than three years ahead of schedule due to a successful vote of no confidence against the incumbent Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili.
'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.
Moeketsi Majoro is a Mosotho economist and politician who has been serving as the sixth prime minister of Lesotho since May 2020. He was previously the minister of Finance in the cabinet of Tom Thabane from 2017 to 2020. Majoro has been representing the Thetsane Constituency No. 33 in the National Assembly since his election in 2017. He was formerly a senator and the minister of Development Planning from 2013 to 2015. Majoro is a member of the All Basotho Convention (ABC).
Mathibeli Edwin Mokhothu is a Mosotho educator and politician who has served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho,as well as the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs,since 2020. A member of the Democratic Congress,he is the party's leader and previous deputy leader. He was formerly the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly before the party formed part of a coalition with the All Basotho Convention in May 2020. From 2015 to 2017,he served as the Minister of Gender,Youth,Sports and Recreation. Mokhothu is the MP for the Qhoali No. 68 constituency.
'Matšepo Ramakoae is a Lesotho politician. She has been serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations since May 2020. She is the legislator from the Matsieng constituency No. 45. Ramakoae served as the Deputy Minister of Finance from 2012 until 2015.
Virginia Mats'eliso Moshabesha was a Mosotho politician. She was one of the first group of women elected to the National Assembly of Lesotho in 1993.
References
- ↑ "Profiles of cabinet ministers of Lesotho". Department of Information. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "Strike a woman and you strike a rock". The Post. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- 1 2 Rosenberg, Weisfelder (2003). Historical Dictionary of Lesotho. Scarecrow Press. p. 33. ISBN 9780810865747.
- ↑ Matlosa, Khabele (2 April 1998). "Democracy and Conflict in Post-Apartheid Southern Africa: Dilemmas of Social Change in Small States". International Affairs. 74 (2): 332. doi:10.1111/1468-2346.00019. JSTOR 2623904.
- ↑ Mehler, Andreas; Melber, Henning; Walraven, Klaas Van (2004). Africa Yearbook. BRILL. p. 407.
- ↑ "List of Members of the Pan African Parliament (as of 15 March 2004)" (PDF). p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 26 November 2008.