Quett Masire

Who is Quett Masire?

Ketumile Quett Joni Masire was born on 23 July 1925 in Kanye, in the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, into a cattle-herding family. He trained as a teacher and later became a successful commercial farmer, earning a Master Farmers Certificate in 1957, before turning to journalism and politics. In 1961 he helped found the Botswana Democratic Party alongside Seretse Khama and served as its first secretary-general. Elected to the legislature, he became Deputy Prime Minister in 1966 under Prime Minister Khama, and when Botswana gained independence later that year he became the new nation's first Vice-President, holding the finance and development-planning portfolios through the 1970s as the country began converting newly discovered diamond wealth into infrastructure and social spending. Following Seretse Khama's death in 1980, Masire succeeded him as President, going on to become Botswana's second and longest-serving head of state, re-elected repeatedly until he voluntarily stepped down in 1998 in favour of his Vice-President, Festus Mogae. His eighteen years in office are widely credited with consolidating Botswana's reputation for stable governance and prudent economic management. He died on 22 June 2017 in Mmopane, Botswana, at the age of 91.

Sources: Quett Masire, Wikipedia · "Former Botswana President Quett Masire deserves to be remembered as one of the greatest post-colonial African leaders", LSE Africa blog (2017) · Quett Masire, Britannica