Seretse Khama
Seretse Khama was exiled from his own country for marrying an Englishwoman and came back to lead it out of the poorest position in Africa. He was the heir to the Bangwato chieftaincy, studying law in London, when he married Ruth Williams in 1948. South Africa had just introduced apartheid, an interracial couple ruling on its border was intolerable to Pretoria, and Britain - which depended on South African gold and uranium - held an inquiry, suppressed its finding that he was fit to rule, and exiled him for six years. He renounced the chieftaincy to return in 1956, founded a party, and led Bechuanaland to independence in 1966 as Botswana. It was then among the poorest countries on earth: a few miles of paved road, a couple of dozen university graduates, and an economy of cattle and remittances from South African mines. Diamonds were found at Orapa in 1967, and what he did next is the whole story. He renegotiated with De Beers for a half share of the profits rather than a royalty, kept the revenue in a fund rather than in ministries, and spent it on schools, clinics and roads. Botswana had the fastest-growing economy in the world for the next three decades. He also kept elections, an opposition and a free press, while surrounded by apartheid South Africa, Rhodesia and a war in Angola - refusing to host guerrilla bases while refusing to recognise the regimes. He died in office in 1980 and the constitutional succession worked.
- Lived: 1921 CE – 1980 CE
- Nationality: Motswana
- Roles: head_of_state, politician
