King of Lesotho since 1996
Letsie III
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Letsie III in 2019
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First reign
| 12 November 1990 ? 25 January 1995
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Predecessor
| Moshoeshoe II
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Successor
| Bereng Seeiso Moshoeshoe II
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Second reign
| 7 February 1996 ? present
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Coronation
| 31 October 1997
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Predecessor
| - Mamohato
(regent)
- Bereng Seeiso, Moshoeshoe II
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Heir apparent
| Lerotholi Seeiso
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Born
| Seeiso
Bereng
(
1963-07-17
)
17 July 1963
(age 60)
Scott Hospital Morija,
Morija
,
Basutoland
(now
Lesotho
)
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Spouse
|
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Issue
Detail
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David Mohato Bereng Seeiso
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House
| Seeiso
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Father
| Bereng Seeiso
Moshoeshoe II
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Mother
| Mamohato
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Religion
| Catholic
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Signature
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Letsie III
(born
Mohato Bereng Seeiso
; 17 July 1963) is
King of Lesotho
. He succeeded his father, Bereng Seeiso
Moshoeshoe II
, who was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but died in a car crash in early 1996, and Letsie became king again. As a
constitutional monarch
, most of King Letsie's duties as monarch of Lesotho are ceremonial.
[1]
In 2000, he declared
HIV/AIDS in Lesotho
to be a natural disaster, prompting immediate national and international response to the epidemic.
[2]
Biography
[
edit
]
Letsie III was born on 17 July 1963 at the Scott Hospital in
Morija
, a town south of the capital
Maseru
. He was educated in the
United Kingdom
at
Ampleforth College
.
[3]
From there, he went on to study at the
National University of Lesotho
, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Law. He then went on to study at the
University of Bristol
(Diploma in English Legal Studies, 1986),
Wolfson College, Cambridge
(Development Studies, 1989), and
Wye College
(Agricultural Economics). He completed his studies in 1989, when he returned to
Lesotho
.
[4]
He was installed as the Principal Chief of
Matsieng
on 16 December 1989.
[5]
His coronation took place on 31 October 1997 at
Setsoto Stadium
.
King Charles III
(then the
Prince of Wales
) attended the ceremony.
[6]
On 1 December 2016, in
Rome
, King Letsie III was appointed as the
Food and Agriculture Organization
's newest
Special Ambassador
for Nutrition by the Organization's Director-General,
Jose Graziano da Silva
.
[7]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Marriage and children
[
edit
]
In 2000, King Letsie married
Karabo Mot?oeneng
, with whom he has two daughters and one son:
Religion
[
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]
King Letsie III is the only
Catholic
sovereign of non-European lineage anywhere in the world. He is a member of the
Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George
and has been credited with promoting the principles of his Catholic faith in Lesotho.
[9]
Patronages
[
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]
- Patron of the Prince Mohato Award (Khau ea Khosana Mohato).
Honours
[
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]
National
[
edit
]
Foreign
[
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]
Ancestry
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
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