Vice President Mompati Merafhe of Botswana
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Merafhe has been the Member of Parliament for Mahalapye West since the 1994 election.
Merafhe was approved as Vice-President by Parliament on the same day, receiving 48 out of 56 votes, with no votes against, two spoiled votes, and six abstentions; he was immediately sworn in.
Merafhe was not given a ministerial portfolio as Vice-President, although it was suggested that he might be tasked with project implementation across ministries.
Merafhe is married and has five children.
Following the second round of the Zimbabwean presidential election in June 2008, Merafhe said that the election was flawed and that Zimbabwe should be barred from participation in regional talks.
a b c d e "Merafhe is new vice president", BOPA, 2 April 2008.
Merafhe was commander of the Botswana Defence Force and Khama his second in command.
Merafhe was commander of the Botswana Defence Force when 15 Botswana soldiers were killed by Rhodesian (Zimbabwes pre-independence name) forces during the Lesoma ambush in 1977.
Unlike Mckinnon, Merafhe was Mugabes neighbour and did not have the luxury of shouting and criticizing Zimbabwe from the safe distance of thousands of kilometres.
They now find themselves on unchartered territory and there is no doubt that SADC and the AU will recognise Mugabes government although Merafhe was blunt in his criticism.
being a disciplined former (first) military general and a fervent lover of Foreign Affairs trivia, Mompati Merafhe was not significant for much of his tenure, because in my memory his tenure was not symbolic of anything defining in our short Foreign Policy History.
But to cut him slack, I could also pass the blame to the media for not exposing US to rigorous analysis of what the name Mompati Merafhe means to our foreign affairs - or in fact even to students of Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs - for not offering US stimulating interpretation of what the many faces of our foreign affairs activity Merafhe was responsible for in Botswanas diplomacy.
The man is now your vice president, the question was whether, in a wholistic appreciation of Botswana's diplomacy so far, one can write an analysis that proved Merafhe was a tried,tested and innovative diplomat.
Merafhe is just pompus and has no brains now we have the man of Phandu's calibre he is doing well.
Botswanan Vice President Mompati Merafhe said in a statement.
MAHALAPYE: Vice-President Mompati Merafhe is facing a tough battle for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) ticket in his Mahalapye West constituency in a race where the winner might be difficult to determine.
This is why recently, Merafhe was reportedly accused of having a hand in locking out some of the councillors during the vetting process until they were saved by the BDP Central Committee.
It is however, common knowledge that Merafhe is no longer pulling together with some of his men and women.
When other contestants like Bolele drive about two hours from Gaborone to Mahalapye, Merafhe takes only 15 minutes by air.
Until April 1, Merafhe was one of the longest serving Foreign Affairs Ministers in the region.
Merafhe is tipped to win this one, though his popularity is on the wane.
On China, Merafhe says there is a lot of paranoia about Chinese engagement in Africa.
Moupo reportedly said given that Merafhe is obviously going to get overwhelming support from the BDP majority, then the vote in parliament did not matter.
In government, Merafhe is known as a conservative whose take on freedom of expression and other civil liberties border on control.
Merafhe knows very well or at least he should know that the key committees such as the one on Complaints and Appeals of the envisaged Press Council are appointed by a minister - a political operative.
Unless he has read the Media Bill selectively, he should have realised that it is littered with political interference and reeks with bias such that any perceptive person should have noticed the problems.
We have always believed that Merafhe is a perceptive reader.
planting activities leading to low yields in Botswana this year.
The new African commodities exchange to be opened in Botswana will bring jobs, tax revenues and the transfer of technology and expertise to the country, vice president Mompati Merafhe said last week.
In an emailed copy of a speech, Merafhe said that the favourable conditions prevailing in Botswana influenced MCX Africa to domicile their Pan African commodity exchange there.
Mompati Merafhe expressed his hope that SADC member states would remain engaged in finding a lasting solution to the political impasse in Zimbabwe.
2 million pula (about US$150 000) per month, Vice President Mompati Merafhe said at the weekend, urging a quick solution to Zimbabwe's political impasse.
GABORONE, March 18, 2008 (AFP) - Botswana President Festus Mogae will on Wednesday begin a two-day visit to France at the invitation of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Foreign Affairs Minister Mompati Merafhe said Tuesday.
Merafhe said that even if the Americans and the British were planning action to topple Mugabe, it would not be mounted from Botswana.
General Merafhe said that Botswana’s diamonds were mined according to the highest standards and revenue generated from the sale of diamonds has helped transform the country.
Referring to the Japanese jewelry industry, Vice President Merafhe said that Japanese jewelry manufacturers are now doing business directly with Botswana.
Zimbabwe because whatever happened in that country affected Botswana.
Botswana disagrees with Zimbabwe on land invasions Merafhe 25 March, 2002 Foreign affairs minister Mompati Merafhe says Botswana supports a credible.
Merafhe is the Botswana minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation.
In the presence of the combative Mugabe, Merafhe was very categorical that the controversial one-man Zimbabwean presidential election run-off that gave Mugabe victory was a nullity and called for the exclusion of Zimbabwe from AU or SADC meetings to avoid legitimising the run off.
Though a former police chief and army commander, Merafhe was a master at cautious speak and circular diplomatic talk, never revealing much and talking out of turn.