List of prime ministers of Lesotho facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of Lesotho
Coat of arms of Lesotho
Incumbent Sam Matekane since 28 October 2022
Style	The Right Honorable
Residence	State House, Maseru
Appointer	Letsie III, as King of Lesotho
Term length	5 years, no fixed term
Inaugural holder	Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane
Formation	6 May 1965
Salary	562,734 LSL/36,650 USD annually

This article shares a list of the Prime Ministers of Lesotho. The Prime Minister is the head of government in Lesotho. This important job was created in 1965.

Since then, seven different people have served as Prime Minister. Three of them, Ntsu Mokhehle, Pakalitha Mosisili, and Tom Thabane, held the position more than once.

The current Prime Minister is Sam Matekane. He started his term on 28 October 2022.

Who are the Prime Ministers of Lesotho?

This section lists all the people who have served as Prime Minister of Lesotho. It also includes leaders during times of military rule or acting Prime Ministers.

Political Parties and Groups

Political parties are groups of people who share similar ideas about how to run a country. They work together to win elections.

     Basotho National Party (BNP)      Basutoland Congress Party (BCP)      Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD)      Democratic Congress (DC)      All Basotho Convention (ABC)      Revolution for Prosperity (RFP)

Other Leaders

Sometimes, leaders came from other groups, like the military, or served as temporary (acting) leaders.

     Military      Independent

Types of Leaders

     Chairman of the Military Council      Acting Prime Minister

No.	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Election Year	Time in Office			Political Party	King of Lesotho
				Started	Ended	Length of Time
1		Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane (1918–1986)	1965	6 May 1965	7 July 1965	2 months, 1 day	BNP	Elizabeth II (1965–1966)
2		Leabua Jonathan (1914–1987)	1970 (election cancelled) 1985	7 July 1965	20 January 1986 (removed from power)	20 years, 6 months, 13 days	BNP	Moshoeshoe II (1966–1990)
—		Justin Metsing Lekhanya (1938–2021)	—	24 January 1986	2 May 1991 (removed from power)	5 years, 3 months, 8 days	Military
								Letsie III (1990–1995)
—		Elias Phisoana Ramaema (1933–2015)	—	2 May 1991	2 April 1993	1 year, 11 months, 1 day	Military
3		Ntsu Mokhehle (1918–1999)	1993	2 April 1993	17 August 1994 (removed from power)	1 year, 4 months, 15 days	BCP
—		Hae Phoofolo (born 1947)	—	17 August 1994	14 September 1994	28 days	Independent
		Ntsu Mokhehle (1918–1999)	—	14 September 1994	29 May 1998	3 years, 8 months, 15 days	BCP (until 1997)
(3)								Moshoeshoe II (1995–1996)
								Letsie III (since 1996)
							LCD
4		Pakalitha Mosisili (born 1945)	1998 2002 2007	29 May 1998	8 June 2012	14 years, 10 days	LCD (until 2011)
							DC
5		Tom Thabane (born 1939)	2012	8 June 2012	17 March 2015	2 years, 9 months, 9 days	ABC
(4)		Pakalitha Mosisili (born 1945)	2015	17 March 2015	16 June 2017	2 years, 3 months	DC
(5)		Tom Thabane (born 1939)	2017	16 June 2017	19 May 2020	2 years, 11 months, 3 days	ABC
6		Moeketsi Majoro (born 1961)	—	20 May 2020	28 October 2022	2 years, 5 months, 8 days	ABC
7		Sam Matekane (born 1958)	2022	28 October 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 1 month, 22 days	RFP

Timeline of Prime Ministers

This timeline shows when each Prime Minister served. You can see how long they were in office and which political party they belonged to.

More About Lesotho's Government

If you want to learn more about how Lesotho is governed, check out these links:

• Politics of Lesotho
• History of Lesotho
• List of monarchs of Lesotho