Gaositwe Chiepe

Dr. Gaositwe Keagakwa Tibe Chiepe was born on October 20, 1922, in Serowe. Overcoming poverty, she became the first woman from Bechuanaland to earn a university degree (Fort Hare, 1947) and the first to earn a master's degree (University of Bristol, 1957). Appointed Director of Education in 1968, she designed Botswana's modern post-independence education system.

In 1970, Chiepe became Botswana's first female diplomat, serving as High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and ambassador to the EEC. Appointed to the cabinet in 1974, she held senior portfolios for twenty-five years, notably as Minister of Foreign Affairs during the dramatic climax of the anti-apartheid liberation struggle. She lived to the age of 101, honored as a national matriarch.