 Country name:
conventional long form: Kingdom of Lesotho conventional short form:Lesotho local long form:Kingdom of Lesotho local short form:Lesotho former:Basutoland
Government type:
parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Capital:
name:Maserugeographic coordinates:29 19 S, 27 29 E time difference:UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
10 districts; Berea, Butha-Buthe, Leribe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, Thaba-Tseka
Independence:
4 October 1966 (from the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 4 October (1966)
Constitution:
previous 1959, 1967; latest adopted 2 April 1993 (effectively restoring the 1967 version); amended 2001 (2013)
Legal system:
mixed legal system of English common law and Roman-Dutch law; judicial review of legislative acts in High Court and Court of Appeal
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:King LETSIE III (since 7 February 1996); note - King LETSIE III formerly occupied the throne from November 1990 to February 1995 while his father was in exilehead of government:Prime Minister Motsoahae Thomas THABANE (since 8 June 2012) cabinet:Cabinet elections:the leader of the majority party, or coalition of parties, in the Assembly automatically becomes prime minister; the monarchy is hereditary, but, under the terms of the constitution that came into effect after the March 1993 election, the monarch is a 'living symbol of national unity' with no executive or legislative powers; under traditional law, the college of chiefs has the power to depose the monarch, determine next in line of succession or shall serve as regent in the event that the successor is not of mature age
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (33 members - 22 principal chiefs and 11 other members appointed by the ruling party) and the Assembly (120 seats, 80 by popular vote and 40 by proportional vote; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)elections:last held on 26 May 2012 (next to be held in 2017) election results:percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - DC 48, ABC 30, LCD 26, BNP 5, PFD 3, NIP 2, other 6
Judicial branch:
highest court(s):Court of Appeal (consists of the court president, such number of justices of appeal as set by Parliament, and the Chief Justice and the puisne judges of the High Court ex officio); High Court (consists of the chief justice and such number of puisne judges as set by Parliament); note - both the Court of Appeal and the High Court have jurisdiction in constitutional issuesjudge selection and term of office:Court of Appeal president and High Court chief justice appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; puisne judges appointed by the monarch on advice of the Judicial Service Commission, an independent body of judicial officers and officials designated by the monarch; judges of both courts can serve until age 75 subordinate courts:Magistrate Courts; customary or traditional courts; Courts Martial
| | Political parties and leaders:
Pakalitha Mosisili All Basotho Convention or ABC [Motsoahae Thomas THABANE]Basotho Batho Democratic Party or BBDP [Geremane RAMATHEBANE] Basotho Congress Party or BCP [Thulo MAHLAKENG] Basotho Democratic National Party or BDNP [Thabang NYEOE] Basotho National Party or BNP [Thesele MASERIBANE] Democratic Congress or DC [Pakalitha MOSISILI] Lesotho Congress for Democracy or LCD [Mothetjoa METSING] Lesotho Peoples Congress or LPC [Kelebone MAOPE] Lesotho Workers Party or LWP [Macaefa BILLY] Marematlou Freedom Party or MFP [Vincent MALEBO] National Independent Party or NIP [Kimetso MATHABA]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Media Institute of Southern Africa, Lesotho chapter [Tsebo MATŠASA] (pushes for media freedom)
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador Eliachim Molapi SEBATANE (since 2 November 2011)chancery:2511 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone:[1] (202) 797-5533 FAX:[1] (202) 234-6815
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Carl B. FOXembassy:254 Kingsway Road, Maseru West (Consular Section) mailing address:P. O. Box 333, Maseru 100, Lesotho telephone:[266] 22 312666 FAX:[266] 22 310116
Flag description:
three horizontal stripes of blue (top), white, and green in the proportions of 3:4:3; the colors represent rain, peace, and prosperity respectively; centered in the white stripe is a black Basotho hat representing the indigenous people; the flag was unfurled in October 2006 to celebrate 40 years of independence
National symbol(s):
Basotho hat
National anthem:
name:'Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona' (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers)lyrics/music:Francois COILLARD/Ferdinand-Samuel LAUR note:adopted 1967; the anthem's music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook |