James George Haskins (born 1914, died 1990)
was a politician and businessman from
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
.
Haskins was born in
Bulawayo. His father was James Haskins from Bristol who run coffee business in
Tati Concessions Land
The Tati Concession was a land and mining concession created in the western borderlands of the Matabele Kingdom. The concession was originally granted by the Matabele King, Lobengula, son of Mzilikazi, to Sir John Swinburne in exchange for gol ...
and later a trading store chain headquartered in
Francistown
Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...
.
Haskins founded the Francistown Chamber of Commerce.
Haskins entered politics in 1948 as a member of European Advisory Council. He was a member of the
Legislative Council of Bechuanaland 1961–1964. He was a member of
Bechuanaland Democratic Party.
Haskins could be considered a spokesperson of the
white community in Botswana and an advocate for Botswana independence. In 1966, he became a member of
National Assembly of Botswana. The same year he joined cabinet and held offices of minister of commerce, industry and water affairs, and later
minister of finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
,
of agriculture, and communications. In 1979 Haskins retired from the cabinet and returned to family trading business.
From 1979 to 1989 he served as the
Speaker of the National Assembly of Botswana.
References
1914 births
1990 deaths
Botswana businesspeople
Finance ministers of Botswana
Botswana Democratic Party politicians
Speakers of the National Assembly (Botswana)
White Botswana people
People from Bulawayo
{{Botswana-politician-stub