List of prime ministers of Lesotho

This is a list of prime ministers of Lesotho (Sotho: Tona-Kholo) since the formation of the post of Prime Minister of Lesotho in 1965, to the present day.

Prime Minister of Lesotho
Tona-Kholo
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[1]

A total of seven people have served as Prime Minister of Lesotho (not counting one Acting Prime Minister and two Chairmen of the Military Council). Additionally, three persons, Ntsu Mokhehle, Pakalitha Mosisili and Tom Thabane, have served on two non-consecutive occasions.

The current Prime Minister is Sam Matekane, who was sworn in on 28 October 2022.^[2]

List of officeholders

Political parties

  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 factions

  Military

  Independent

Status

  Chairman of the Military Council

  Acting prime minister

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Election	Term of office			Political party	Monarch(s) (Reign)
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane (1918–1986)	1965	6 May 1965	7 July 1965	62 days	BNP	Elizabeth II (1965–1966)
2		Leabua Jonathan (1914–1987)	1970 (annulled) 1985	7 July 1965	20 January 1986 (deposed)	20 years, 197 days	BNP	Moshoeshoe II (1966–1990)
—		Justin Metsing Lekhanya (1938–2021)	—	24 January 1986	2 May 1991 (deposed)	5 years, 98 days	Military
								Letsie III (1990–1995)
—		Elias Phisoana Ramaema (1933–2015)	—	2 May 1991	2 April 1993	1 year, 335 days	Military
3		Ntsu Mokhehle (1918–1999)	1993	2 April 1993	17 August 1994 (deposed)	1 year, 137 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, 257 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, 282 days	ABC
(4)		Pakalitha Mosisili (born 1945)	2015	17 March 2015	16 June 2017	2 years, 91 days	DC
(5)		Tom Thabane (born 1939)	2017	16 June 2017	19 May 2020	2 years, 339 days	ABC
6		Moeketsi Majoro (born 1961)	—	20 May 2020	28 October 2022	2 years, 161 days	ABC
7		Sam Matekane (born 1958)	2022	28 October 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 286 days	RFP

Timeline

See also

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