Botswana is mourning the death of its second President Sir Ketumile Masire who died in hospital late Thursday night.

Born Quett Ketumile Johny Masire in 1925, he led Botswana since 1980 following the death of founding president Sir Seretse Khama until his retirement in 1998.

He led the country in what many described as a difficult period in the southern Africa region where most of Botswana's neighbors were going through their liberation struggles.

He however managed to maintain Botswana as one of Africa's shining example of peace and democratic rule.

Since his retirement, Masire has been involved in several missions in the region including chairing the committee that investigated the 1994 Rwandan genocide as well as coordinating the 1998 Congolese dialogue.

(Source: Xinhua)