Ian Khama

Ian Khama is the second child of Sir Seretse Khama (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980), who was the country's foremost independence leader and President from 1966 to 1980, and Lady Khama. He was born in Chertsey, Surrey, during the period in which his father was exiled to the United Kingdom due to the opposition by the colonial government and the emergent apartheid regime in South Africa to his marriage to a white woman.[3]

He is also the grandson of Sekgoma II (1869–1925), who was the paramount chief of the Bamangwato people, and the great-grandson of Khama III (1837–1923), their king; and the great-great grandson of Kgosikgolo Sekgoma I, the Chief of the Bamangwato people (1815–1885). The name "Seretse" means “the clay that binds together”, and was given to his father to celebrate the recent reconciliation of his father and grandfather; this reconciliation assured Seretse Khama's ascension to the throne when his aged father died in 1925. Ian Seretse Khama is named after his father to continue this historical legacy. He is also known simply as Ian Khama to differentiate between himself and his father. Tshekedi Khama II, Ian Khama's brother, was named after their great uncle, Tshekedi Khama who was the regent and guardian for Seretse Khama, the first President of Botswana.[4]

Ian Khama is an alumnus of Waterford Kamhlaba, a United World College in Mbabane, Swaziland.[5] He is a qualified pilot and attended Royal Military Academy Sandhurst,[6] where the British Army trains its officers. In April 1977, Khama was appointed as a brigadier general at age 24 during Sir Seretse Khama's Presidency, making him the Deputy Commander to late former Vice President Lt. Gen. Mompati Merafhe. He later served as the Commander of the Botswana Defense Force (BDF) from his appointment in 1989, retiring from the position in 1998. During this time, Khama received military honours, including the Founder Officer Medal for being part of the Botswana Defense Force when it was created in 1977, the Duty Code Order for devotion to duty, and the Distinguished Service Medal in 1997 after 20 years of service.

Khama during a state visit to Chile in 2017

Khama, serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, announced on 16 December 1997 that he would retire from his command on 31 March 1998. Because this was the same date as the planned retirement of President Quett Masire, it fueled political speculation about Khama.[7] On 1 April 1998, when Vice-President Festus Mogae succeeded Masire as President, Khama was appointed as the new Vice-President. However, Khama did not hold a seat in the National Assembly, and so could not immediately take office as Vice-President. In early July 1998 he overwhelmingly won a by-election in Serowe North, receiving 2,986 votes against 86 votes for the candidate of the opposition Botswana National Front.[8] On 13 July, he took his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in as Vice-President.[9] By these actions, he effectively renounced his hitherto unclaimed hereditary chieftaincy, as the constitutional monarchs of modern Botswana are legally barred from actively taking part in party politics. Be this as it may, many traditional Bamangwato continued to recognize him as their chief.

Following the victory of the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) in the general election of October 1999, Khama remained Vice-President as well as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration.[10][11] Mogae granted Khama a one-year leave later in the year,[12][13] a decision that the opposition Botswana Congress Party[12] and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations sharply criticized. Khama's leave became effective on 1 January 2000.[13] He returned to his duties as Vice-President on 1 September 2000, although he was replaced as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration at that time.[14]

Khama, already a member of the BDP Central Committee,[15] was elected as Chairman of the BDP on 22 July 2003 at a party congress; he defeated the previous Chairman, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, receiving 512 votes against 219 for Kedikilwe.[16][17] Khama had been backed for the post by President Mogae,[15][18] and the outcome was viewed as crucial, paving the way for Khama to eventually succeed Mogae as President.[15][16]

In 2007, Khama appeared on British television in the BBC's Top Gear motoring programme and he met the presenters as they prepared to cross the Makgadikgadi Pan in northern Botswana by car.[19]

Khama took a strong stance against the Zimbabwean government, particularly Robert Mugabe.[55] He did so by refusing to recognize the government unless and until it included members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) headed by Morgan Tsvangarai.[56] Khama also condemned the action of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir in the region of Dafur[57] and became a vocal critic of despotic governments in Africa along with President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania and President Levy Mwanawasa of Zambia.

Khama has been criticized by some figures for making poor decisions, including by former president Quett Masire, who claimed that the BDP had been taken over by opportunists looking to benefit from senior government positions.[58]

Under Khama, the government has also established the Directorate of Intelligence and Security Services (DISS) with police powers, which is seen as the Botswana equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States. Although this type of organization is not new and is found in many countries, it has critics in Botswana who charge that there are very few domestic or transnational threats that the police and the military could not handle. Some, including Executive director of the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, Siphosami Malunga, have argued that the institution, initially headed by President Khama's close friend Issac Kgosi, could easily be manipulated and used against political enemies or others who criticize the President or his administration.[59]

On the economic front, Khama has been a vocal proponent of moving Botswana away from its over-reliance on diamonds and diversifying its economy, especially to the agriculture and tourism sector.[60]

Khama put in place a ban on Elephant hunting during his time as President, and supported conservation efforts in Botswana. In 2018, he criticized President Donald Trump for encouraging elephant poaching.[61]

Khama has been strongly prohibitionist in his attitude towards alcohol, viewing it as a significant problem.[62]

On 1 April 2018, Mokgweetsi Masisi was sworn in as the 5th President of Botswana, succeeding Ian Khama and his full ten years of presidency. After several disagreements with Masisi, in particular criticizing Masisi for authoritarian tendencies,[63] Khama decided to leave the BDP and join the Botswana Patriotic Front (BPF), a newly formed breakaway from the BDP. He campaigned for the BPF, which won three seats in the 2019 general elections in the Serowe area.[64]

In 2018, after resigning from the presidency, Khama became a member of the Board of Directors of the US-based organization Conservation International, which is also active in Botswana.[65]