Tebelelo Mazile Seretse was the first woman to serve as ambassador to the United States from Botswana (effective February 14, 2011). While a member of Parliament from 1999 - 2004, she had three Cabinet level positions: Acting Minister of Presidential Affairs, Minister of Trade and Industry, Wildlife and Tourism and Minister of Works, Transport and Communications. [1]
She was also Director and Chairperson of RPC Data Limited, "the largest integrated information technology services company in Botswana." [2]
Seretse graduated from Morgan State University with a BA in Economics and a BA in Accounting before earning a MA from the University of Cincinnati and an LL.B. law degree from the University of Botswana. [1]
In September 2021, the Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology (MoTE), Dr. Douglas Letsholathebe, announced the appointment of Ambassador Tebelelo Mazile Seretse as the Chancellor of the University of Botswana.The appointment was made by President Mokgweetsi Masisi and is effective from 1 September 2021 until 31 August 2026.
The Batswana, a term also used to denote all citizens of Botswana, refers to the country's major ethnic group. Prior to European contact, the Batswana lived as herders and farmers under tribal rule.
The Botswana Democratic Party is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, and its symbol is a lift jack. The party has ruled Botswana continuously since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The BDP is sometimes classified as a paternalistic conservative party and is also a consultative member of the Socialist International since 2014, which is a group including many worldwide social-democratic parties.
Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE was a Motswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980.
The Bechuanaland Protectorate was a protectorate established on 31 March 1885 in Southern Africa by the United Kingdom. It became the Republic of Botswana on 30 September 1966.
The University of Botswana (UB) was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities, Health Sciences, Science and Social Sciences and the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital.
Ruth Williams Khama, Lady Khama was the wife of Botswana's first president Sir Seretse Khama, the Paramount Chief of its Bamangwato tribe. She served as the inaugural First Lady of Botswana from 1966 to 1980.
The Bamangwato is one of the eight "principal" Tswana chieftaincies of Botswana. They ruled over a majority Bakalanga population, with minorities including the Basarwa, Birwa and Tswapong. The modern Bamangwato formed in the Central District, with its main town and capital at Serowe. The paramount chief, a hereditary position, occupies one of the fifteen places in Ntlo ya Dikgosi, the national House of Chiefs.
Unity Dow is a Motswana lawyer, human rights activist, specially elected member of parliament, and a writer. She formerly served as a judge on the High Court of Botswana and in various Botswana government ministries. Born in the Bechuanaland Protectorate to a seamstress and a farmer, who insisted on their children obtaining an education, Dow grew up in a traditional rural village before modernisation. She earned a law degree in 1983 from the University of Botswana and Swaziland, though her studies were completed in Swaziland and University of Edinburgh, Scotland, as Botswana had no law school at the time. After her graduation, Dow opened the first all-woman law firm in Botswana and in 1997 became the first woman to be appointed as a judge to the country's High Court.
Sir Seretse Khama International Airport, located 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of downtown Gaborone, is the main international airport of the capital city of Botswana. The airport is named after Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Botswana. It was opened in 1984 to handle regional and international traffic. It has the largest passenger movement in the country. In 2017 the airport got its first special economic zone which would house in the following departments: CAAB, Botswana Innovation Hub, ITPA and diamond hub for diamond sector.
Archibald Mooketsa Mogwe was a politician and diplomat in Botswana. A member of parliament from Kanye, Mogwe served as the Foreign Minister from 1974 to 1984, and as the Minister of Mineral Resources and Water Affairs from 1985 to 1994, before serving as Ambassador to the United States. He was appointed to the latter post on 13 November 1995 and presented his credentials on 6 February 1996. Mogwe also played an important role as a facilitator in the Inter-Congolese Dialogue. Early on, he made his mark as the first Permanent Secretary to the Office of President Sir Seretse Khama.
Bisera Turković is a Bosnian diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023. She was the first female foreign minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Lindiwe Nonceba Sisulu is a South African politician. She was member of parliament from 1994 until 2023, and is a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress as of 2023. She previously served as Minister of Housing, as Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Minister of Public Service and Administration, Minister of Human Settlements from, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation and Minister of Tourism.
Seretse Khama Ian Khama is a Motswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, he entered politics and was Vice-President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008, then succeeded Festus Mogae as President on 1 April 2008. He won a full term in the 2009 election and was re-elected in October 2014.
Natalia Gherman is a Moldovan politician who has been serving as executive director of the United Nations' Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate since 2023.
Semane Setlhoko Khama (1881–1937) was a mohumagadi of the BaNgwato Kingdom in the Bechuanaland Protectorate. Educated in a missionary school, she became a teacher and upon her marriage to Khama III continued to press for education for the BaNgwato. A proponent of modern medicine, she was influential in bringing modern midwifery to the area. As a devout Christian, she encouraged women's involvement in the church and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Elizabeth Pulane Moremi was regent and mohumagadi (queen) of BaTawana from 1946 to 1964 while her son, Letsholathêbê II a Morêmi, was too young to rule. She married Moremi III, the ruler of BaTawana, in 1937. When he was killed in a 1946 car crash, she was made regent. As regent, Moremi attempted to make several progressive reforms, but was hindered by conservative opposition. She stepped down in 1964 and worked at a school before her death thirty years later.
Rose Seretse is the CEO of the Botswana Energy Regulatory Authority. She previously was the Director General of the Botswana Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime from 2009 until 2017. She has represented Botswana internationally for anti-corruption initiatives.