The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Lesotho

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This page contains a list of the greatest Mosotho Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 19,576 Politicians, 7 of which were born in Lesotho. This makes Lesotho the birth place of the 162nd most number of Politicians behind Malawi, and Zambia.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Mosotho Politicians of all time. This list of famous Mosotho Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Mosotho Politicians.

Photo of Letsie III of Lesotho

1. Letsie III of Lesotho (b. 1963)

With an HPI of 59.06, Letsie III of Lesotho is the most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 67 different languages on wikipedia.

Letsie III (born Mohato Bereng Seeiso; 17 July 1963) is King of Lesotho. He succeeded his father, Bereng Seeiso Moshoeshoe II, who was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but died in a car crash in early 1996, and Letsie became king again. As a constitutional monarch, most of King Letsie's duties as monarch of Lesotho are ceremonial. In 2000, he declared HIV/AIDS in Lesotho to be a natural disaster, prompting immediate national and international response to the epidemic.

Photo of Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho

2. Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (1938 - 1996)

With an HPI of 54.07, Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho is the 2nd most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages.

Moshoeshoe II (2 May 1938 – 15 January 1996), previously known as Constantine Bereng Seeiso, was the Paramount Chief of Basutoland, succeeding paramount chief Seeiso from 1960 until the country gained full independence from Britain in 1966. He was King of Lesotho from 1966 until his exile in 1990, and from 1995 until his death in 1996.

Photo of Pakalitha Mosisili

3. Pakalitha Mosisili (b. 1945)

With an HPI of 50.18, Pakalitha Mosisili is the 3rd most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Bethuel Pakalitha Mosisili (born 14 March 1945) is a former Mosotho politician who was the fourth prime minister of Lesotho from May 1998 to June 2012 and again from March 2015 to June 2017. He led the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD) to a near-total victory in the 1998 election, and under his leadership the party also won majorities in the 2002 and 2007 elections. While serving as Prime Minister, Mosisili was also Minister of Defence. Following the snap election held on 28 February 2015, he formed and led a coalition government. He was sworn in on 17 March 2015.

Photo of Moshoeshoe I

4. Moshoeshoe I (1786 - 1870)

With an HPI of 49.30, Moshoeshoe I is the 4th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Moshoeshoe I () (c. 1786 – 11 March 1870) was the first king of Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage, a branch of the Koena (crocodile) clan. In his youth, he helped his father gain power over some other smaller clans. At the age of 34 Moshoeshoe formed his own clan and became a chief. He and his followers settled at the Butha-Buthe Mountain. He became the first and longest-serving King of Lesotho in 1822.

Photo of Tom Thabane

5. Tom Thabane (b. 1939)

With an HPI of 48.03, Tom Thabane is the 5th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Thomas Motsoahae Thabane (born 28 May 1939) is a Mosotho politician who was the fifth Prime Minister of Lesotho from 2012 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2020. He founded the All Basotho Convention (ABC) in 2006 and led the party until 2022. Thabane served in the government of Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili from 1998 to 2006 as a member of the ruling Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD), but in 2006 he split from the LCD and launched the All Basotho Convention (ABC). After more than five years in opposition, he built a coalition of 12 parties in the wake of the 2012 Lesotho parliamentary election and was appointed prime minister. In the 2015 Lesotho parliamentary election, the ABC was democratically removed from power by a seven-party coalition led by Mosisili, though the ABC did win the most constituencies. Two months later, Thabane fled to South Africa with two other opposition leaders, claiming that their lives were in danger. They returned to Lesotho on 12 February 2017 to participate in a parliamentary vote of no confidence that unseated Mosisili. Thabane went on to win a plurality of seats in the subsequent parliamentary election and returned as prime minister. In 2020, Thabane faced pressure to resign as prime minister due to his alleged involvement in his ex-spouse's murder. He announced on 18 May that he would resign the following day.

Photo of Leabua Jonathan

6. Leabua Jonathan (1914 - 1987)

With an HPI of 46.15, Leabua Jonathan is the 6th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the first prime minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.

Photo of Justin Lekhanya

7. Justin Lekhanya (1938 - 2021)

With an HPI of 44.75, Justin Lekhanya is the 7th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

General Justin Metsing Lekhanya (7 April 1938 – 20 January 2021) was the Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Military Council of Lesotho (head of government) from 24 January 1986 to 2 May 1991.

Photo of Moeketsi Majoro

8. Moeketsi Majoro (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 42.05, Moeketsi Majoro is the 8th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Moeketsi Majoro (born 3 November 1961) is a Mosotho economist and politician who served as the sixth prime minister of Lesotho from May 2020 to October 2022. He was previously the minister of Finance in the cabinet of Tom Thabane from 2017 to 2020. Majoro has been representing the Thetsane Constituency No. 33 in the National Assembly since his election in 2017. He was formerly a senator and the minister of Development Planning from 2013 to 2015. Majoro is a member of the All Basotho Convention (ABC).

Photo of Sam Matekane

9. Sam Matekane (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 40.97, Sam Matekane is the 9th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane (born 15 March 1958) is a Mosotho businessman and politician who is the current Prime Minister of Lesotho. Prior to running, he was considered to be the richest person in the country. Matekane made his fortune in diamond mining, as well as through government issued construction contracts. He founded his company, Matekane Group of Companies (MGC) in 1986. In March 2022, Matekane held a press conference at his hotel, and formed the Revolution for Prosperity (RFP) party. Matekane self-funded a political campaign with a heavy social media presence and won the 2022 Lesotho General Election. Through MGC, Matekane has funded several projects in the country. Matekane funded the construction of a football stadium, a school, and a convention center and a cost-sharing owner-farmer scheme farm in his village of Mantšonyane. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he bought testing equipment, vaccines and other medical necessities and donated them. He has made donations amounting to M8 million in Police Uniforms, and M2 million in Equipment for the Lesotho Defense Force.

Photo of Ntsu Mokhehle

10. Ntsu Mokhehle (1918 - 1999)

With an HPI of 40.60, Ntsu Mokhehle is the 10th most famous Mosotho Politician.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Ntsu Mokhehle (26 December 1918 – 6 January 1999) was a Lesotho politician. He founded Basutoland African Congress (BAC) in 1952. He founded Basutoland Congress Party in 1957 then later in 1997 founded Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD). He served as the third prime minister of Lesotho from 2 April 1993 to 17 August 1994 and from 14 September 1994 to 29 May 1998.

People

Pantheon has 10 people classified as Mosotho politicians born between 1786 and 1963. Of these 10, 5 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Mosotho politicians include Letsie III of Lesotho, Pakalitha Mosisili, and Tom Thabane. The most famous deceased Mosotho politicians include Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho, Moshoeshoe I, and Leabua Jonathan. As of April 2024, 3 new Mosotho politicians have been added to Pantheon including Justin Lekhanya, Sam Matekane, and Ntsu Mokhehle.

Living Mosotho Politicians

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Deceased Mosotho Politicians

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Newly Added Mosotho Politicians (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.