Ponatshego Honorius Kefaeng Kedikilwe (born 7 July 1938) is a Motswana politician who was

Vice-President of Botswana The vice-president of Botswana is the second-highest executive official in the Government of Botswana. The vice-president is appointed by the president of Botswana among elected members of the National Assembly. The vice-president is the constitu ...

from 2012 to 2014. A member of the ruling

Botswana Democratic Party The Botswana Democratic Party ( abbr. BDP) is the governing party in Botswana. Its chairman is the Vice-President of Botswana, Slumber Tsogwane, and its symbol is a lift jack. The party has ruled Botswana continuously since gaining independenc ...

(BDP), he has also served as Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources since 2007.

Political career

Kedikilwe was educated at the Kikuyu College of Social Studies, the

University of East Africa The University of East Africa was established on 29 June 1963"Universities: East Africa", ''A Historical Companion To Postcolonial Thought In English'' (Columbia University Press, 2005) Prem Poddar and David Johnson, eds., p. 489. and served Keny ...

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

1963–64;

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

, NY 1964–65;

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

1965–68;

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 13 ...

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. He was first elected to the National Assembly as the Member of Parliament for

Mmadinare Mmadinare is a village that is located in the Central District of Botswana, 15 kilometers from Selibe Phikwe. The village is slowly growing into a town, with a population estimate of about 13 000 (estimates from the 2004 census) people of differe ...

in 1984. He served as

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", " ...

from 1998 to 1999. Kedikilwe served as Chairman of the BDP until 2003. President

Ian Khama Seretse Khama Ian Khama (born 27 February 1953) is a Botswana 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 Defence ...

was elected as

Chairman at a party congress on 22 July 2003, defeating Kedikilwe; Khama received 512 votes against 219 for Kedikilwe."Botswana: Khama win eases Mogae's concerns"
IRIN, 23 July 2003. Khama had been backed for the post by Former President

Festus Mogae Festus Gontebanye Mogae (born 21 August 1939) is a Botswana 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 y ...

, and the outcome was viewed as crucial, paving the way for Khama to eventually succeed Mogae as President during that time Kedikilwe was appointed as Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources in January 2007. Vice-President

Mompati Merafhe Mompati Sebogodi Merafhe (6 June 1936 – 7 January 2015) was a Botswana politician who was Vice-President of Botswana from 2008 to 2012. He was a retired Lieutenant-General and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 2008. Biography ...

retired on 31 July 2012. President Ian Khama nominated Kedikilwe as Vice-President on 1 August 2012, and the National Assembly promptly approved the nomination; 38 MPs voted in favor, while 12 abstained from the vote. Kedikilwe was sworn in later in the same day. The government said that Kedikilwe would retain his portfolio as Minister of Minerals, Energy, and Water Resources. Following the 2014 general election, Khama instead nominated

Mokgweetsi Masisi Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi (born 21 July 1961) is the fifth and current President of Botswana, serving since 2018. He served as the 8th Vice President of Botswana from 12 November 2014 to 1 April 2018. He was a Member of Parliament in the N ...

as Vice-President on 12 November 2014."Parliament Endorses Masisi As VP"
BOPA, 12 November 2014. File:Ponatshego Kedikilwe.jpg File:Ponatshego Kedikilwe 7.jpg File:Ponatshego Kedikilwe 4.jpg

References

External links

1938 births Living people Botswana Democratic Party politicians Vice-presidents of Botswana Finance ministers of Botswana Energy ministers of Botswana Water ministers of Botswana Members of the National Assembly (Botswana) Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs alumni {{Botswana-politician-stub