The impoverished Southern African nation of Lesotho, where 40% of the population of about 2 million lives on less than $1.25 per day, has sent a new ambassador to the United States who lived in the U.S. in the 1970s. Eliachim Molapi Sebatane was named ambassador as of November 2, 2011, and presented his credentials to President Barack Obama on January 17, 2012.

 

Sebatane was born on June 21, 1944, and earned a B.S. in Education at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (now known as the National University of Lesotho) and an M.A and Ph.D. in Educational Research Methodology at the University of Pittsburgh in 1976, where his dissertation was entitled, “The Effect of Differences in Covariate Means Among Treatment Groups upon the F Test of the Analysis of Covariance.” He has spent most of his more than 35-year career in higher education, both as an academic and administrator, at the National University of Lesotho (NUL) in Roma, Lesotho. Starting as a professor in the Education Department, Sebatane undertook more than 50 research studies, and produced more than 30 publications, including journal articles, books, book chapters, book reviews and monographs. Among his works are An Empirical Study of the Attitudes and Perceptions of Migrant Workers: The Case of Lesotho (1979), The Family in Lesotho: Perspectives on its Changing Life and Structure (1983) and Implications of Lesotho’s Population Growth for Education (1995).

 

He served for a total of 10 years as a member of the NUL Governing Council, as well as on several major committees and boards of the university, as pro-vice chancellor from May 2007 to June 2011 and as acting vice chancellor from August 2009 to April 2011.

 

In addition to his academic work, Sebatane has been involved in the Business Council of Lesotho, the Lesotho National Planning Board, and chaired the Lesotho Technical Committee for the implementation of the SADC Protocol on Education and Training to mention a few. He has served as national chapter head of the African Network for the Prevention and Protection against Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN).

 

Molapi Sebatane is married to fellow academic Lois A. Sebatane, an American who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho (1967-1969) before both did graduate work in Education at the University of Pittsburgh. The couple have four children. Lois Sebatane started an HIV/AIDS home for women and children in Lesotho.

-Matt Bewig