President of Botswana
The president of the Republic of Botswana is the head of state and the head of government of Botswana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, according to the Constitution of Botswana.
| President of the Republic of Botswana | |
|---|---|
 Presidential flag | |
| Appointer | Parliament of Botswana |
| Term length | 5 years, renewable once |
| Inaugural holder | Seretse Khama |
| Formation | 30 September 1966 |
| Deputy | Vice-President of Botswana |
| Salary | 1,075,056 Botswana pula[1] |
 |
|---|
| Constitution |
Presidential term
The president is elected to a five-year term that runs concurrently with the term of the National Assembly. Since 1997, he has been limited to a total of 10 years in office (equivalent to two full terms), whether successive or separated. For example, if current president Mokgweetsi Masisi were to leave office in 2024, he could run again in 2029, but would have to leave office for good in 2034.
The first president for whom the term limits applied was Festus Mogae in 2008.[2]
Election
The president is elected via a form of double simultaneous vote. All candidates for the National Assembly declare whom they endorse for president when they lodge their nomination papers, and the candidate who receives a majority of endorsements from the elected members of the National Assembly is automatically elected.[3][4][5] If no candidate receives a majority of endorsements, the National Assembly elects the president by simple majority, before it co-opts the specially elected members. If no president is elected after three ballots, or if the Speaker determines that no candidate has enough support to be elected, the legislature is automatically dissolved.[4] In practice, the president is the leader of the majority party in the Assembly.
Presidents of Botswana (1966–present)
- Political parties
Symbols
† Died in office
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Elected | Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 |  |
Seretse Khama (1921–1980) |
1965 1969 1974 1979 |
30 September 1966 | 13 July 1980[†] | 13 years, 287 days | BDP |
| 2 | .jpg.webp) |
Quett Masire (1926–2017) |
1984 1989 1994 |
18 July 1980 | 31 March 1998 | 17 years, 256 days | BDP |
| 3 |  |
Festus Mogae (born 1939) |
1999 2004 |
1 April 1998 | 1 April 2008 | 10 years | BDP |
| 4 | _(cropped)_(cropped).jpg.webp) |
Ian Khama (born 1953) |
2009 2014 |
1 April 2008 | 1 April 2018 | 10 years | BDP |
| 5 |  |
Mokgweetsi Masisi (born 1961) |
2019 | 1 April 2018 | Incumbent | 5 years, 207 days | BDP |
Lifespan timeline of presidents of Botswana
This is a graphical lifespan timeline of presidents of Botswana. The presidents are listed in order of office.
Footnotes
- Error: Unable to display the reference properly. See the documentation for details.
- Cook, Candace; Siegle, Joseph. "Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa". Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
- Chaudry, Serena (18 October 2009). "Botswana's President Khama wins new term". The Independent. Reuters.
- The President and Vice President. Chapter 4, Part I, Constitution of Botswana
- Ntuane, Batsalo. Democratic forces must safeguard presidential term limits Archived 2018-06-23 at the Wayback Machine. Mwegi, 2006-05-22.
