Seretse Khama Led Independent Botswana

In 1948, Tswana monarch Seretse Khama married a white English woman named Ruth Williams, prompting the British government to exile him from his homeland. Britain allowed the couple to return in 1956 after Khama renounced his claim to the Bangwato chieftainship and returned as a private citizen. He founded the Botswana Democratic Party, led the country toward independence, and became Botswana's first president in 1966. Under his leadership, Botswana used its diamond wealth to build one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.

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