A republic in south-central Africa that became independent from British control in the 1960s.
Landlocked country in central southern Africa, bounded S and SE by South Africa, W and N by Namibia, and NE by Zimbabwe.
government
The 1966 constitution blends the British system of parliamentary accountability with representation for each of Botswana's major ethnic groups. It provides for a national assembly of 36 members—30 elected by universal suffrage, 4 by the assembly itself, plus the speaker and the attorney general—and has a life of five years. The president is elected by the assembly for its duration and is an ex officio member of that body and answerable to it. There is also a 15-member house of chiefs, consisting of the chiefs of Botswana's eight principal ethnic groups, 4 members elected by the chiefs themselves, and 3 elected by the house in general. The president may delay a bill for up to six months and then either sign it or dissolve the assembly and call a general election. The house of chiefs is consulted by the president and the assembly in matters affecting it. The president appoints a cabinet that is answerable to the assembly.
history
The first inhabitants were the Kung, the hunter-gatherer groups living chiefly in the Kalahari Desert; from the 17th century the Tswana people became the principal inhabitants of the area, followed by the arrival of Bantu peoples in the early 19th century. Fearing an invasion by Boer farmers (descendants of Dutch settlers), the local rulers appealed to Britain, and Bechuanaland (as it was originally called) became a British protectorate 1885.
On passing the Union of South Africa Act 1910, making South Africa independent, the British Parliament provided for the possibility of Bechuanaland becoming part of South Africa, but stipulated that this would not happen without popular consent.
Successive South African governments requested the transfer, but Botswana preferred full independence.
The 1960 constitution provided for a legislative council, although remaining under British High Commission control. In 1963 High Commission rule ended, and in the legislative assembly elections the newly formed Bechuanaland Democratic Party (BDP) won a majority. Its leader, Seretse Khama, had been deposed as chief of the Bamangwato tribe 1950 and had since lived in exile.
achieved independence
In 1966 the country, renamed Botswana, became an independent state within the Commonwealth with Seretse Khama as president. He continued to be reelected until his death 1980, when he was succeeded by the vice president, Dr Ketumile Masire, who was reelected 1984, 1989, and 1994. In the 1989 elections the BDP won 31 of the 34 national assembly seats; in the 1994 elections it was again returned to power but with a reduced majority.
relations with South Africa
Since independence Botswana has earned a reputation for stability. It is a member of the nonaligned movement. South Africa accused it of providing bases for the African National Congress (ANC) prior to the legalization of the organization 1990, and Botswana was the target of several cross-border raids by South African forces. The presence of ANC bases was always denied by both Botswana and the ANC. Normal relations were restored with South Africa 1994.