Thomas Tlou (1 June 1932 – 28 June 2010) was a

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 Kal ...

academic and historian, and former representative of Botswana at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

. Tlou was born in Gwanda in the then Southern Rhodesia in 1932. Tlou studied at Luther College from 1962 to 1965, where he graduated magna cum laude in African history. Tlou also studied at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

.University of Botswana Chancellors
/ref> In 1971 he joined the

University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland The University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) was a predecessor to the universities of the respective countries, presently National University of Lesotho, University of Botswana and University of Eswatini. The University was formerly k ...

,(UBLS), the fore-runner of the

University of Botswana The University of Botswana, popularly known as UB, was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. Th ...

, to teach history. He left academia to perform government service and from 1976 to 1980 was Botswana's permanent representative at the United Nations. Tlou was the first Motswana (Botswana citizen) to be vice-chancellor of the University of Botswana, serving from 1985 to 1998. Thereafter he continued at the same university as professor of history, finally retiring in 2006. Tlou was also chair of the

Association of Commonwealth Universities The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) was established in 1913, and has over 500 member institutions in over 50 countries across the Commonwealth. The ACU is the world's oldest international network of universities. Its mission is t ...

and served on the executive board of the

Association of African Universities The Association of African Universities (AAU) ( ar, اتحاد الجامعات الأفريقية, french: Association des universités africaines) is a university association of African universities based in Accra, Ghana. With member institution ...

. In Botswana he served on the Tertiary Education Council and he was chair of the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA). He was married to Professor Sheila Tlou, Botswana's minister of health from 2004 to 2008 and a former associate professor of nursing at the University of Botswana.

Awards

In 2006 Tlou was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

He also received the Botswana Presidential Order of Honour, and was made a ''Chevalier dans L'Ordre des

Palmes académiques Palmes is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Sir Brian Palmes, English landowner and politician *Sir Guy Palmes, English politician * Brian Palmes MP *Lieutenant General Francis Palmes Lieutenant-General Francis Palmes MP (d ...

'' by France.

Works

Tlou has written or co-written many of the standard texts on Botswana history. * * *

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tlou, Thomas Botswana diplomats Botswana educators Botswana male writers Botswana historians Historians of Africa Permanent Representatives of Botswana to the United Nations 1932 births 2010 deaths Luther College (Iowa) alumni Botswana expatriates in the United States University of Botswana faculty 20th-century historians 21st-century historians 20th-century male writers