Quett Ketumile Joni Masire (b.1925) was President of Botswana from 1980 to 1998. A leading figure in his country’s independence movement, Masire’s long tenure as President was at the helm of the Botswana Democratic Party. After retiring from office, Masire became involved with several diplomatic initiatives across Africa, including in Rwanda, the Congo, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana and Swaziland.