Shimane L.G. Kelaotswe 2024 Speaker

High Commissioner

Botswana High Commission

Biography

His Excellency Mr Shimane Lawrence Gaokgethelwe Kelaotswe is the High Commissioner of Botswana to the United Kingdom, based in London. Mr Kelaotswe is a dedicated diplomat who has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over thirty years and has contributed significantly to Botswana’s international relations.

In his current role, Mr Kelaotswe is not only responsible for representing Botswana in the United Kingdom. He is accredited to other countries, including Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Cyprus, Croatia, and the Czech Republic. Additionally, he is Botswana’s official representative to the Commonwealth. This extensive portfolio highlights his essential role in fostering diplomatic and trade relations between Botswana and these nations.

Before his current appointment as Botswana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Mr Shimane Lawrence Kelaotswe had an extensive and distinguished diplomatic career. He served in several critical foreign missions. He was deployed to Namibia, where he served for 6 years on first posting; after that, he was in the USA, then the U.K. and Japan, where he served as Deputy Head of Mission, later deployed to the Federal Republic of Brazil, where he was tasked with establishing the Botswana Embassy in 2009. He was subsequently deployed to Botswana HC in SA after that Botswana Permanent Mission to the AU, where he served as Deputy High Commissioner and Deputy Ambassador. At Ministry HQ, among others, he served as Private Secretary to the Foreign Minister and Acting Director for the Department of Europe and Americas.