Gloria Somolekae
Gloria Somolekae is a Motswana public administration scholar, policy analyst, and politician. She has served as an academic at the University of Botswana, a senior research fellow and Acting Executive Director of the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis (BIDPA), and as a Specially Elected Member of Parliament. Between 2011 and 2014 she served as an Assistant Minister in the Government of Botswana in the Ministries of Finance and Development Planning and of Health.
Early life and education
Somolekae earned a BA in Public Administration and Political Science from the University of Botswana and Swaziland in 1981. She completed an MA in Public Policy and Administration at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, in 1983 and a PhD in Public Administration at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, in 1994.
Academic and policy career
She began her career as a lecturer and later senior lecturer in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana. Her teaching and research covered development administration, public policy analysis and programme evaluation.
Somolekae later worked with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as a regional programme director before joining BIDPA, where she has led the Governance and Administration Unit and served as Acting Executive Director.
Government service
In 2011 she was appointed a Specially Elected Member of Parliament and became Assistant Minister in a cabinet reshuffle. She served in the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning and later in the Ministry of Health. In Parliament she defended government financing arrangements and represented the executive in debates on development planning.
Public health advocacy
As Assistant Minister of Health, Somolekae launched the “Condomise Campaign” in Gaborone on 19 May 2014. She emphasised the importance of teaching correct and consistent condom use among youth and sexually active groups and highlighted youth-led participation in HIV prevention.
Research and leadership
Somolekae has spoken publicly about challenges facing policy research institutions, including funding constraints and staff retention and has advocated for ensuring research findings are communicated effectively to policymakers.
In 2025, she led BIDPA’s countrywide consultations in towns including Palapye, Kanye, Francistown, Maun and Kasane to broaden inclusive dialogue for national development.
Selected publications
Year |
Title |
Publication / Type |
Co-authors |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1988 |
Perceptions and attitudes of Batswana mineworkers towards the South African gold mines, with special reference to living and working conditions, legal issues and trade unions |
Working paper, International Labour Office (MIG WP 36) |
Louis Molamu; Athaliah Molokomme; Gloria Somolekae |
Study of migrant Batswana mineworkers, including legal and trade union issues. |
1993 |
Bureaucracy and Democracy in Botswana: What Type of a Relationship? |
Chapter in Botswana: The Political Economy of Democratic Development |
Gloria Somolekae |
Analysis of bureaucracy–democracy relations in Botswana. |
1994 |
The environment of small scale business and the informal sector in Botswana: Constraints, problems and prospects |
PhD dissertation, Maxwell School, Syracuse University |
Gloria Somolekae |
Doctoral thesis on Botswana’s informal sector. |
1998 |
Public Administration and Policy in Botswana |
Book (Kenwyn: Juta) |
Kempe R. Hope; Gloria Somolekae |
Survey of Botswana’s public administration and policy. |
~1998 |
The Chieftaincy System and Politics in Botswana, 1966–95 |
Chapter in collected work / journal |
Gloria Somolekae; Mogopodi Lekorwe |
Examines the role of traditional leadership in Botswana’s politics. |
2000 |
Widening the frontiers of democracy: towards a transformative agenda in Botswana politics |
Pula: Botswana Journal of African Studies 14(1): 13–25 |
Gloria Somolekae |
Article focusing on democratic institutions and women’s political participation. |
2002 |
Contract-Financed Technical Co-operation and Local Ownership: Botswana and Mozambique Country Study Report |
Sida Evaluation Report 03/09:01 |
Gaspar Cuambe; Annet Lingen; Gloria Somolekae; Peter de Valk |
Evaluation of Swedish development assistance and local ownership. |
2003 |
Electoral Audit: Botswana |
Report / monograph |
Gloria Somolekae |
Analysis of Botswana’s electoral processes. |