Ian Khama

Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama (or Ian a Sêrêtsê; born 1953) is the Vice President of Botswana and the Paramount Chief of the Bamangwato tribe. He is the firstborn son of Sir Seretse Khama, the country's foremost independence leader who was President from 1966 to 1980, and Lady Ruth Williams Khama.

Khama, serving as Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, announced on December 16 1997 that he would retire from his command on March 31 1998. Because this was the same date as the planned retirement of President Quett Masire, it fuelled political speculation about Khama. On April 1 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 as a result he 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. On July 13, he took his seat in the National Assembly and was sworn in as Vice-President.

Following the October 1999 general election, Khama remained Vice-President as well as Minister of Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. Mogae granted Khama a one-year leave later in the year, a decision that the opposition Botswana Congress Party and the Botswana Council of Non-Governmental Organizations sharply criticized. Khama's leave became effective on January 1 2000.

Mogae intends to resign in April 2008, at which point Khama will become the fourth president of the Republic of Botswana. The next general election is planned for October 2009.

In 2007, he appeared on British television in the BBC's Top Gear motoring programme. In his short appearance he met presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond as they prepared to cross the Makgadikgadi Pan in northern Botswana, via car.

Khama is a qualified pilot.Vorlage:Cn

References

Vorlage:Botswana-politician-stub