lesotho

• state in southern africa
the kingdom of lesotho is a country in southern africa. it was a british colony, known as basutoland, from the 19th century until independence in 1966. major general justin lekhanya came to power in 1986 and banned all political activity. king letsie iii succeeded his father in 1990. colonel elias phisoana ramaema became chairman of the military council in 1991. multi-party elections were held in 1993 and ntsu mokhehle, of the basotho congress party (bcp), was elected prime minister. lesotho is a member of the commonwealth and the organization of african unity. it exports clothing, footwear, and wool. tourism is an important industry. many basotho work in south africa.