State · 1966 – present
Lesotho
A state of 1966 – present — 60 years, still standing in sub-Saharan Africa. It replaced Basutoland. The atlas records 7 things within it — wars and battles 1 · regime change 1 · people 5. Its line of rulers holds 5 people, 3 with dated terms.
- Still standing: the span runs to the year of the build, 2026.
For the full story, the article on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); this page holds what the record says of the state.
- Stood
- 60 years
- and still standing
- Rulers
- 5
- the King of Lesotho
- Most ground
- 31,800 km²
- in 1973
- Within it
- 7
- recorded rows
- Symbols
- 4
- on record, with years
Where it sits in time
Five thousand years, 3000 BCE to 2026; the state in gold, what it replaced or followed and what replaced or followed it in grey.
Before and after
The states the record files it as replacing or following, and those that replaced or followed it - Wikidata's own statements, each read from this state's side.
Before it
- Basutoland · replaces · 1884 – 1966
Rulers
The line of King of Lesotho - the office this state names as its head of state.
| Ruler | Reign | Length | How it ended · source | To the ruler before |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho | 1966 – 1970 | 4 years | left office aliveread off the dates alone | |
| 'Mamohato Bereng Seeiso | 1970 – 1970 | under a year | left office aliveread off the dates alone | spouse |
| Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho | 1970 – 1990 | 20 years | deposed, the article saysread from the ruler's own article | spouse |
| 'Mamohato Bereng Seeiso | 1990 – 1990 | under a year | left office aliveread off the dates alone | spouse |
| Letsie III | 1990 – 1995 | 5 years | ending not on record | child |
| Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho | 1995 – 1996 | 1 year | died by accidentWikidata's manner of death | parent |
| 'Mamohato Bereng Seeiso | 1996 – 1996 | under a year | left office aliveread off the dates alone | spouse |
| Letsie III | 1996 – in office | in office since 1996 | still in office | child |
5 rulers, 3 with terms dated as terms, covering 1966 – 1996. Only 30 years of the line are dated - too short for a median. 4 of 7 handovers irregular - a killing, a deposition, a rival claimant, a rising or a coup beside it. The violent-handover count is withheld: power changed hands so often that any rising falls beside one (exposure 0.65, limit 0.6). A blank in the last column means no kin on record, which is coverage, never “unrelated”.
Heads of government
The line of Prime Minister of Lesotho, drawn and never measured: a cabinet is not a reign.
| Leabua Jonathan | lived 1914 – 1987 |
| Sekhonyana Nehemia Maseribane | lived 1918 – 1986 |
| Ntsu Mokhehle | lived 1918 – 1999 |
| Elias Phisoana Ramaema | lived 1933 – 2015 |
| Justin Lekhanya | lived 1938 – 2021 |
| Hae Phoofolo | 1994 – 1994 |
| Pakalitha Mosisili | 1998 – 2012 |
| Tom Thabane | 2012 – 2014 |
| Tom Thabane | 2014 – 2015 |
| Pakalitha Mosisili | 2015 – 2017 |
| Tom Thabane | 2017 – 2020 |
| Moeketsi Majoro | 2020 – 2022 |
| Sam Matekane | 2022 – … |
Ground held, by year
km² inside its borders as the borders dataset draws them, measured on an equal-area grid; a step series, held between the years the dataset maps.
31,600 km² in 1976, 31,600 km² in 2016; at its largest 31,600 km² in 1976. Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0.
Flags and arms, in order
Each symbol with the years its own statement gives; the timeline flies the one of the year on screen.
.svg/120px-Flag_of_Lesotho_(1966%E2%80%931987).svg.png)
flag, undatedFlag of Lesotho (1966–1987) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Zscout370 .svg/120px-Flag_of_Lesotho_(1987%E2%80%932006).svg.png)
flag, 1987 – 2006Flag of Lesotho (1987–2006) · Public domain 
flag, from 2006Flag of Lesotho · Public domain 
coat of arms, from 2006Coat of arms of Lesotho · Public domain
What happened within it, by century
Every row the atlas hosts under this state, by the century it began in: wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey. A tall bar is a century the record is full for, which is partly a fact about Wikipedia.
1900 – 19996 rows · 1 wars and battles · 1 risings, regime changes and massacres
- Letsie III · ruler · 1963 – present
- Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho · ruler · 1938 – 1996
- 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso · ruler · 1976 – present
- 'Mamohato Bereng Seeiso · ruler · 1941 – 2003
- South African intervention in Lesotho · battle · 1998
- 1986 Lesotho coup d'état · adverse regime change · 1986
2000 – 20991 row
- Prince Lerotholi Seeiso · ruler · 2007 – present
Among all states
Each measure against the states that carry it, never against all of them: a bar is the share of those states below this one.
- How long it stood60 years
stood longer than 37% of 3,187 states with a recorded end or still standing.
- The most ground it held31,800 km²
held more ground at its peak than 28% of 1,465 states with a border in Cliopatria.
- Wars recorded per centurynone
had more wars on record per century than 44% of 3,187 states, counting the wars the atlas hosts under each.
- Rulers on record5
has more rulers on record than 64% of 1,968 states with a line of rulers.
What led to it, and what came of it
The investigation's own picture: 1 cause the record names and 0 results, the strongest six of each at their own years, joined to the state by the kind of claim - a recorded statement solid, the article's sentence dashed, a theory dash-dot.
Open the investigation: every row with its evidence, the conditions at the time, the theories condition by condition, and the succession analysed.
Open in the atlas
- On the timeline, 1956 – 2036, with everything that stood beside it.
- On the map in 1973, live: scrub the year and watch its borders move.
- Investigate it: what led to it, what came of it, and its succession analysed.
Wikidata Q1013 (CC0) · borders Cliopatria, CC BY 4.0 · coast and rivers Natural Earth · symbols from Wikimedia Commons, each credited above · data built 2026-10-06 · Pastlas v2.9.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.