The following lists events that happened during the

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American jets fly over burning oil fields in the 1991 Gulf War; the Oslo Accords on 13 September 1993; the World ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Incumbents

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

: **

Quett Masire Ketumile Quett Joni Masire, GCMG (23 July 1925 – 22 June 2017), was the second and longest-serving president of Botswana, in office from 1980 to 1998. He was given an honorary knighthood of the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint Geor ...

(1980–1998) **

Festus Mogae Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Motswana politician and economist who served as the third President of Botswana from 1998 to 2008. He succeeded Quett Masire as President in 1998 and was re-elected in October 2004. After ten ...

(1998–2008) *

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Peter Mmusi Peter Simako Otlaadisang Mmusi (born 16 May 1929, died October 1994) was the Vice-President of Botswana from 3 January 1983 until 1992. He also served as the Minister of Finance from 1980 to 1989, and as the Minister of Local Government and Land ...

(1983–1992) ** Festus Mogae (1992–1998) **

Ian Khama Seretse Khama Ian Khama() (born 27 February 1953) is a Motswana politician and former military officer who was the fourth President of the Republic of Botswana from 1 April 2008 to 1 April 2018. After serving as Commander of the Botswana Defenc ...

(1998–2008)

Events

1990

* Namibia is established as an independent country to the west of Botswana, giving the country another route to the ocean beside South Africa.

1991

* Sowa Soda Ash Works is established. * 12,000 public sector employees are removed from their positions for engaging in

strike action Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike in British English, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Working class, work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Str ...

. *

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in neighbouring South Africa ends.

1992

* March –

steps down as vice president amid scandal. He is replaced by

. * 3 July – A ruling is made in favour of

Unity Dow Unity Dow ( Diswai; born 23 April 1959) is a Motswana lawyer, author, human rights activist and Member of Parliament for Kgatleng West since November 2024. She formerly served as a judge on the High Court of Botswana and in various Botswa ...

in ''

Attorney General of Botswana v. Unity Dow ''Attorney General of Botswana v. Unity Dow'' (sometimes abbreviated ''Attorney General v. Dow'', Civil Appeal No. 4/91, and known locally as the Citizenship Case or Dow Case) was a landmark decision of Botswana's Court of Appeal. The case upheld ...

''.

1993

* The Pula Fund, a

sovereign wealth fund A sovereign wealth fund (SWF), or sovereign investment fund, is a state-owned investment fund that invests in real and financial assets such as stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, real estate, precious metals, or in alternative investments such as ...

, is established. * The human rights group

Ditshwanelo Ditshwanelo (Setswana for "Rights"), or the Botswana Centre for Human Rights, is a human rights organisation founded in 1993 in Botswana. It aims to improve human rights through education and governance. The group has campaigned against capital pu ...

is founded.

1994

* 11 July – The

Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) is a Botswanan anti-corruption agency founded in 1994 by the government of Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana i ...

is established following several corruption scandals. * 15 October – The

1994 Botswana general election General elections were held in Botswana on 15 October 1994, alongside simultaneous 1994 Botswana local elections, local elections. The result was a victory for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP),Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich & Bernhard Thib ...

is held. The

Botswana Democratic Party The Botswana Democratic Party (Abbreviation, abbr. BDP, colloquially known as Domkrag) is a centre-right politics, centre-right political party in Botswana. From the country's 1965 Bechuanaland general election, inaugural election in 1965 until th ...

maintains its majority. * 6 November – The murder of Segametsi Mogomotsi as part of a

ritual killing A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

prompts riots.

1995

* 16 February – The parliament building and downtown Gaborone are attacked by students.

1996

* Universal

pension A pension (; ) is a fund into which amounts are paid regularly during an individual's working career, and from which periodic payments are made to support the person's retirement from work. A pension may be either a " defined benefit plan", wh ...

s are established.

1997

* The

Vision 2016 Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...

economic plan is launched. *

Botho University Botho University (formerly known as Botho College/NIIT) is Botswana's largest private tertiary educational provider, founded in 1997. The college offers certificates, diplomas and graduate degrees in accountancy and computer science. It is the f ...

is founded. * April – Omang national identity cards are introduced. * October – A referendum is held to create the

Independent Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

, to lower the voting age to 18, to set

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction on the number of terms a person may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potential for monopoly, w ...

s on the presidency, and to allow automatic succession of the vice president in the event of a presidential vacancy. All three motions pass.

1998

* 31 March – President

retires. He is succeeded by

. * 20 June – The

Botswana Congress Party The Botswana Congress Party (BCP) is a social democratic political party in Botswana. Founded in 1998 as a result of a split from the Botswana National Front (BNF), the party attracted most of the BNF's sitting MPs due to a leadership dispute i ...

is founded by

Michael Dingake Michael Kitso Dingake (11 February 1928 – 7 April 2024) was a Botswana political activist, writer and founding president of the Botswana Congress Party. Biography Education Dingake commenced his educational journey at Bobonong Primary Sch ...

. * 13 July –

becomes vice president. * September – Botswana joins South Africa in an invasion of Lesotho to quell a military insurrection. * The LGBT rights group

LEGABIBO The Lesbians, Gays & Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) is a Botswana human rights advocacy group with the primary objective of seeking legal and social rights for the LGBT community in Botswana. It is the first LGBT focused organization to be regis ...

is founded.

1999

* 17 May –

Yarona FM Yarona FM is an urban broadcaster targeting young adults. The radio station is a private commercial entity that has existed since 1999. It is regulated by BOCRA and attracts a unique weekly audience of 250,000. History The radio station started ...

becomes the first private radio station in Botswana. * September – A state of emergency is declared for six days following issues with voter registration. * 16 October – The

1999 Botswana general election General elections were held in Botswana on 16 October 1999, alongside local elections. The result was an eighth straight victory for the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which increased its majority to 33 of the 40 elected seats in the Na ...

is held. The Botswana Democratic Party maintains its majority. The Botswana Congress Party had acquired seats from members that left the Botswana National Front, but it loses most of these seats. * 13 December – The

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

rules that Botswana, not Namibia, has jurisdiction over Sedudu Island.

Deaths

* 1990 ** James G. Haskins, Speaker of the National Assembly ** 3 October –

Bathoen Gaseitsiwe Bathoen Seepapitso Gaseitsiwe (18 May 1908—3 October 1990) also known as Bathoen II and B2 was a Motswana ''kgosi'', jurist and politician who served as Chief of the Bangwaketse from 1928 to 1969. He served as Chairman of the Botswana Nationa ...

, ''

kgosi A (; ) is the title for a hereditary leader of a Batswana and South Africa peoples tribe. Usage The word "kgosi" is a Setswana term for "king" or "chief". Various affixes can be added to the word to change its meaning: adding the prefix ''di- ...

'' of

Bangwaketse The Bangwaketse (also known as the BaNgwaketse, or Ngwaketse) are one of the eight principal tribes in Botswana, and are ethnic Tswana. (The "Ba" or "Bo" prefix in African tribal names in southern Africa means "people of" or "people who speak" ...

and

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

* 1991 ** Amos Dambe, politician and diplomat * 1992 ** Englishman Kgabo, politician ** Gaefalale Sebeso, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly * 1994 **

Elizabeth Pulane Moremi Elizabeth Pulane Moremi (1912–1994) was List of rulers of Tawana, regent and ''mohumagadi'' (queen) of baTawana from 1946 to 1964 while her son, Letsholathêbê II a Morêmi, was too young to rule. She married Moremi III, the ruler of baTawan ...

, regent of BaTawana ** 1 October –

, vice-president of Botswana * 1996 ** John Hardbattle, activist * 1999 ** 8 October –

Alfred Merriweather Alfred Musgrave Merriweather CBE, (19 August 1918 – 8 October 1999) was a Scottish missionary in Botswana, who was a member of the National Assembly of Botswana and its first Speaker. He helped improve public health in Botswana. Biography M ...

, Speaker of the National Assembly

References

{{Years in Botswana

Years of the 20th century in Botswana