Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana who made HIV and AIDS a national priority during his 10-year tenure from 1998 to 2008, has died at age 86, the government said Friday. Botswana President Duma Boko announced that the country will mark the death with three days of national mourning. The government did not provide a cause of death.
Boko said Mogae had earned international respect for what he described as principled and sound economic management and for a commitment to democracy. In his address to the nation, Boko said Mogae remained “a voice of reason, unity and progress throughout his life.”
The AP report said Mogae was credited with championing Botswana’s HIV/AIDS fight by making it a national priority. It said he helped launch free access to antiretroviral drugs at public health facilities in 2002, and later extended the program to noncitizens in 2019.
Boko said Mogae devoted his life to the service of Botswana, while describing him as “Today Botswana mourns a distinguished statesman, a patriot whose life was devoted to the service of his country.” The AP report also said the HIV/AIDS efforts under Mogae contributed to a significant decrease in the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Botswana.
The AP report said Mogae won the Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership, citing the honor’s recognition of his democratic leadership and peaceful transfer of power. It also said Botswana’s economy is closely tied to diamonds, and that Mogae, an economist by profession, had served as governor of the Bank of Botswana before leading the country.
The AP report did not attribute any specific role to Mogae in diamond production itself, but it described Botswana’s overall diamond role in the economy and noted that Botswana is the biggest producer of diamonds by value and the second biggest by volume behind Russia.