Gaositwe Chiepe

Dr Gaositwe Thipe Chiepe (born 20 October 1922) in Serowe and a daughter to T. and S.T Chiepe (nee Sebina). Her father died when she was very young and her extended family wanted her to leave school and get married, but her mother insisted she stays in school to continue her education. Chiepe, undoubtedly attributed her successful career to her mother’s insistence that she be educated.

She was very instrumental in the formulation of the Botswana educational system, she represented Botswana as high commissioner and ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to many European countries. A Botswana politician,diplomat, educator, interlectual and former cabinet minister under the Botswana Democratic Party. She was the first woman education officer. She was her country's high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Nigeria and ambassador to West Germany, France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the European Economic Community. She was Botswana's Minister for Trade and Industry in 1977 and in 1984 she became the Foreign minister. She then served as the Minister for Education from 1994 to 1999.

Quotes

 * Let us, as the elderly not be relegated to being dinosaurs but utilize our knowledge and hard earned wisdom to not only increase our relevance and longevity in society, but also increase the contact between generations, bridging the gap between young and old.
 * We want to be ‘the aged in counsel and the young in action.
 * Don’t turns us, the elderly, into dinosaurs – Dr Chiepe (16th October 2013)
 * First thing I say to girls is be yourself, don't try to be something else. Respect yourself and everyone will respect you. I worked in a man's world, everywhere I went I was practically the only woman, but they respected me.
 * I am against the idea of quotas for women in Parliament or councils. I don't think that it is right to put a woman in a position just because she's a woman. Nor do I want a woman to be denied a job because she is a woman. But I also do recognize that because so very few women are in such positions, they must be given a head start, hence the reason for a quota. But they must earn it.
 * Whatever you do, make sure it's your best. Everything I did was my best, hence I have no regrets. In Setswana, there is a saying: 'Susu ilela suswane go re suswane a go ilele.'
 * Gaositwe Chiepe, Along came Gaositwe, Mmegionline ( 28 August 2009) Retrieved 7 November 2021.
 * “We truly express our gratitude to all the elderly persons of Botswana (alive and those resting) for the shape that they molded us into!”
 * Don’t turns us, the elderly, into dinosaurs – Dr Chiepe, Sunday Standard, 16 October 2013, Retrieved: 4 November 2023