Conventional Long Form: Kingdom of Lesotho
Capital City: Maseru Government Type: parliamentary constitutional monarchy Date of Independence: 4 October 1966 (from the UK) National Holidays: Independence Day, 4 October (1966). Chief of State:King LETSIE III Head of Government: Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae THABANE Executive Branch/Powers: cabinet: Cabinet elections: according to the constitution, the leader of the majority party in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarchy is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution that came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a "living symbol of national unity" with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law the college of chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine who is next in the line of succession, or who shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age Legislative Branch/Powers: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 26 May 2012 (next to be held in 2017 election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DC 48, ABC 30, LCD 26, BNP 5, PFD 3, NIP 2, other 6 Judicial Branch/Powers: High Court (chief justice appointed by the monarch acting on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional courts Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Ambassador to the US: Ambassador Eliachim Molapi SEBATANE Location of LEsotho's Embassy in the US: 2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 Location of Lesotho's Consulates: NA Ambassador for the US: Ambassador Michele T. BOND Location of US Embassy in Lesotho: 254 Kingsway, Maseru West (Consular Section) Location of US Consulates in Lesotho: NA Representative to the UN: Percy M. Mangoaela Symbolism of FLag: three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence National Symbols: Basotho hat National Anthem: name: "Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona" (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers). lyrics/music: Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR note:adopted 1967; the anthem's music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook |
Chief of State:
King Letsie III Head of Government:
Prime Minister Thomas Motsoahae Thabane National Symbol:
Basotho Hat |