Mswati III
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Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. Together with his mother, Ntfombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (Ndlovukati), he rules the country as an absolute monarch.
Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy (although at least two wives are appointed by the state) and currently has 15 wives.
Biography edit
Born to King Sobhuza II and one of his wives, Ntombi Twala, he was given the title of Prince Makhosetive (King of All Nations). The young prince was one of more than 60 sons that Sobhuza had with his many wives. Makhosetive received his early schooling in Swaziland and was later sent abroad to Sherborne School in Dorset, England, to continue his education.
Makhosetive was 14 years old when his father died in 1982, and a regency was established to rule Swaziland until Makhosetive could ascend the throne upon his 21st birthday. A power struggle within the royal family, however, led to Makhosetive taking the crown when he was 18, making him the youngest world leader at that time. His coronation was held on April 25, 1986. On that day he took the name King Mswati III and also married the first of several wives.
Despite his youth, Mswati was quick to consolidate his power. Within a month of his coronation, he dissolved the Liqoqo, the king’s traditional advisory board that had become the most powerful body in the country since his father’s death and thus was regarded as a threat. He appointed a new prime minister and reshuffled the cabinet, giving two of his brothers important portfolios.
Mswati spent many of the early years of his reign bolstering the monarchy. His rule was autocratic and rife with corruption and excess. His penchant for a luxurious lifestyle for himself and his increasing number of wives and children became infamous and was a source of public discontent. Indeed, by his 40th birthday Mswati had taken more than a dozen wives, and their opulent lifestyles were in sharp contrast to the lives of most Swazis.
In 2001 Mswati attempted to placate calls for democratic reform by appointing a committee to draft a new constitution. The draft, finally released in 2003, allowed the king to retain absolute governing powers and banned opposition parties; it was widely criticized for its lack of democratic reforms. In 2005 Mswati signed a revised version that neither banned political parties nor acknowledged their existence; it went into effect the next year.
In 2004, Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech and assembly for the media and public, while retaining the traditional Tinkhundla system. Amnesty International has criticized the new constitution as inadequate in some respects.
In an attempt to mitigate the HIV and AIDS pandemic in 2001, the king used his traditional powers to invoke a time-honoured chastity rite (umcwasho) under the patronage of a princess, which encouraged all Swazi maidens to abstain from sexual relations for five years. This was last done under Sobhuza II in 1971. This rite banned sexual relations for Swazis under 18 years of age from 9 September 2001 to 19 August 2005, but just two months after imposing the ban, he violated this decree when a 17-year-old liphovela (royal fiancée) was chosen, who became his 13th wife. As per custom, he was fined a cow by members of her regiment, which he duly paid.
Mswati has visited Taiwan seventeen times as of June 2018, and has promised to continue recognizing Taiwan instead of the People's Republic of China.
Eswatini is predominantly rural and is one of the poorest countries in the world (63% of its population lives below the poverty line). An economic circle of 15,000 businessmen takes most of the country's wealth. This circle includes South African investors who have come to Eswatini to find labour at one-third the cost and a group of white businessmen who are heirs to the British settlers.
Mswati contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in January 2021, and later thanked Taiwan for providing antiviral medication that helped with his recovery. Mswati did not disclose that he had been hospitalized until after his recovery.
In June 2021, the 2021 Eswatini protests broke out against authoritarianism and the suppression of opposition. The Communist Party of Swaziland alleged he had fled to South Africa on the night of 28–29 June, whereas the Swaziland Solidarity Network claimed he fled to Mozambique. Both of these claims were denied by acting prime minister Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku.