Leabua Jonathan

Chief Leabua Jonathan
Prime Minister of Lesotho Jonathan (1970)
2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho
In office 7 July 1965 – 20 January 1986
Monarch	Elizabeth II (1965–1966) Moshoeshoe II (1965–1986)
Preceded by	Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane
Succeeded by	Justin Metsing Lekhanya As chairman of the Military Council
Personal details
Born	Joseph Leabua Jonathan 30 October 1914 Leribe, Basutoland
Died	5 April 1987(1987-04-05) (aged 72) Pretoria, Transvaal South Africa
Nationality	Basotho
Political party	Basotho National Party
Religion	Roman Catholic

Joseph Leabua Jonathan (30 October 1914 – 5 April 1987) was the second Prime Minister of Lesotho. He succeeded Chief Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane following a by-election and held that post from 1965 to 1986.

Born in Leribe, Jonathan was a minor chief, like many others a great-grandson of the polygamous King Moshoeshoe I.

Jonathan worked as a mine induna at Brakpan but because he was a chief he went back to Rakolo's and got involved in local government in Basutoland from 1937 and was a member of delegations to London that sought self-government in Basutoland.

Jonathan converted to Catholicism and in 1959 founded the Canadian Catholic missionary-backed Basutoland National Party (BNP), renamed Basotho National Party at independence. In the 1960 election, barely a year after its formation, Leabua's party came fourth but in the election where women were disfranchised. In the pre-independence elections of April 1965, the BNP won 31 parliamentary seats out of a total of 60 and thus became a legitimate government that eventually took Basotho to independence in October 1966, despite protests from opposition BCP and MFP who now wanted independence postponed. Chief Leabua did lose his seat and had to stand for election in a safe seat later. He took office as Prime Minister on 7 July 1965.

Soon after Basutoland gained independence in 1966 as Lesotho, executive power was transferred from the British High Commissioner to the Prime Minister. Jonathan's government took a pacifist stand in South Africa, and this was supported by independent Southern African states such as Zambia of KK Kaunda, Malawi of Banda, Botswana of Sir Seretse Khama, Tanzania of Nyerere among others as they understood the unique situation Lesotho was in as it is completely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa and the majority of its people work in the mines there; also because Jonathan at the time thought that he could talk sense with South African prime ministers Henrik Verwoerd and Balthazar Johannes Vorster, who were contemporary with him. Jonathan was hostile to the Pan Africanist Congress of South Africa who supported the Basutoland Congress Party (BCP) and Marematlou Freedom Party (MFP, but friendly to the African National Congress (ANC). He forged closer links with the ANC after the PAC-backed Lesotho Liberation Army, the exiled BCP military wing, prepared to target Lesotho after 1973.