Backgrounder: Botswana's new vice president Mokgweetsi Masisi

Botswana's Minister of Education and Skills Development Mokgweetsi Masisi on Wednesday was sworn in as the Vice President. Masisi will for the time retain his ministerial portfolio.

The following are some basic facts about the vice president.

Masisi was initially trained as a teacher majoring in English and History. In 1984 he taught at Mmanaana Secondary School in Moshupa, while also leading community development initiatives there.

In 1987, Masisi transferred to Curriculum Development and Evaluation and worked as Social Studies Curriculum Specialist.

He studied at graduate level at Florida State University, United States in 1989, specialising in Social Studies Education and Instructional Systems Design.

In 1990 he re-joined Curriculum Development and oversaw Social Studies and other subjects. There he became the National Coordinator for Social Studies Education and Botswana's representative at the African Social and Environmental Studies Program (ASESP) and Board member for Environmental Education Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) for more than 5 years. He was also a member of several NGO Boards.

Masisi then joined UNICEF in 1995 as Education Project Officer and he resigned to join politics in 2003, standing unsuccessfully for the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) primaries in Moshupa Constituency.

In 2008, Masisi won the BDP's primary elections and thus became the party's Parliamentary candidate for Moshupa, which he subsequently secured in the October 2009 general elections.

Also in October 2009, Masisi was appointed as the Assistant Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public Administration. In January 2011, he was subsequently promoted to be the Minister for Presidential Affairs and Public administration.

The newly endorsed vice president was transferred to the Ministry of Education and Skills Development on an acting basis in April 2014 until the general elections on Oct. 24, 2014, when he was re-elected member of parliament for Moshupa-Manyana.

He was, thereafter, appointed as the Minister of Education and Skills Development. Enditem