The character arc of Seretse Khama

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born 1 July 1921 in Serowe. Died 13 July 1980 in Gaborone, aged fifty nine. Between the two sit a father dead in 1925, a regency, a degree at Fort Hare in 1944, Oxford, a marriage in September 1948, a British announcement on 8 March 1950 barring him from home, exile in 1951, a renounced chieftainship in 1956, a party in 1962, the presidency on 30 September 1966 and a diamond field in 1967. The line below draws that whole life in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who was Seretse Khama?

He gave up a throne to get his country back.

His father died in 1925 and he became kgosi, king of the Bamangwato, at four years old, with his uncle Tshekedi Khama as regent. He was educated at Tiger Kloof in South Africa and took a degree at Fort Hare in 1944, then went to Balliol College, Oxford, and on to legal training at the Inner Temple in London.

In June 1947 he met Ruth Williams, an English clerk, and they married in September 1948. The marriage caused an international crisis. Apartheid South Africa, next door, objected to a Black head of an African people married to a white woman, and pressed Britain. On 8 March 1950 the British government announced that he could not return to the Bechuanaland Protectorate for at least five years, while his pregnant wife was there. He and Ruth were exiled in 1951.

In 1956 he renounced the chieftainship in order to be allowed home as a private citizen. He gave up a throne he had held since he was four in exchange for being permitted to live in his own country. He founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in 1962, became Prime Minister in 1965, and on 30 September 1966 became the first President of Botswana. Diamonds were found at Orapa the following year, and between 1960 and 1980 Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world. He died of pancreatic cancer in July 1980, still in office. His line is worth reading because the price of going home was a crown.

The moments

Seretse Khama's timeline.

The 1920s

~1925

A king at four

Milestone, and it changed everything. Four years old, and a king, with an uncle governing in his name.

The 1940s

Dec 1944

Fort Hare, then Oxford

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Fort Hare, Oxford, the Inner Temple. An education almost nobody from his country had.

29 Sep 1948

He married Ruth Williams

Milestone, and it changed everything. A marriage, and a diplomatic crisis, at the same moment.

The 1950s

8 Mar 1950

Britain barred him from home

Setback, and it changed everything. Told he could not go home for five years. His wife was already there, expecting.

~1951

Exiled

Setback, and it changed everything. Out, both of them, from the country he had been king of since he was four.

1 Jun 1955

Keep the throne, or go home

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: renounce the chieftainship, taken, or keep the claim in exile. He went home a private citizen, founded a party in 1962, and was elected the first President of Botswana in 1966.

Sep 1956

He gave up the throne

Milestone, and it changed everything. The price of being allowed to live at home was the crown. He paid it.

The 1960s

~1962

He founded a party

Milestone, and it changed everything. Not a restoration. An election, and a party to fight it with.

Mar 1965

Prime Minister

Milestone, and it changed his direction. Elected, nine years after coming home with no title at all.

30 Sep 1966

First President of Botswana

Milestone, and it changed everything. A king at four, exiled at twenty nine, president at forty five.

Apr 1967

Diamonds at Orapa

Milestone, and it changed everything. Diamonds found in the first year. What usually follows that discovery did not follow this one.

The line ends 13 Jul 1980, in Gaborone, at fifty nine. What it set moving is a country: a place with diamonds under it that did not go the way places with diamonds under them usually go, run first by a man who had been locked out of it for marrying.

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Seretse Khama: frequently asked questions

What people ask about his line.

What was Seretse Khama's character arc?

A king at four who was barred from his own country for marrying an Englishwoman, gave up the throne in 1956 in order to be allowed home as a private citizen, and was elected the first President of Botswana in 1966.

Why was Seretse Khama exiled?

Because of his marriage. He married Ruth Williams, an English clerk, in September 1948. Apartheid South Africa objected and pressed Britain, and on 8 March 1950 the British government announced he could not return home for at least five years.

Did Seretse Khama give up being king?

Yes. He renounced the chieftainship in 1956 so that he could return to his own country as a private citizen. He had held it since he was four years old, and gave it up in exchange for being allowed to live at home.

When did Seretse Khama become President of Botswana?

On 30 September 1966, having founded the Bechuanaland Democratic Party in 1962 and become Prime Minister in 1965. He was the country's first president, at forty five, and held the office until his death.

What happened to Botswana under Seretse Khama?

Diamonds were found at Orapa in 1967, the year after independence, and between 1960 and 1980 Botswana had the fastest growing economy in the world. This page records that and takes no position on any policy.

Where was Seretse Khama educated?

At the Tiger Kloof Educational Institute in South Africa, then Fort Hare University College, where he took a BA in 1944, then Balliol College, Oxford, from 1944 to 1946, and finally legal training at the Inner Temple in London.

How did Seretse Khama die?

Of pancreatic cancer, in Gaborone, on 13 July 1980, at fifty nine. He was still serving as president of the country he had been locked out of by a British government announcement three decades earlier.

Where does this timeline of Seretse Khama's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Seretse Khama isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to him.

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Sources

Seretse Khama, English Wikipedia biography.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Seretse Khama.
British government announcement of 8 March 1950.