King Mswati III was born Prince Makhosetive, on 19 April 1968.
The name Makhosetive means King of Nations.
He is currently the King of Swaziland, now called Eswatini.
That makes him the head of the Swazi Royal Family.
His father was King Sobhuza II, and his mother was Ntfombi Tfwala, one of the youngest and
numerous wives of his father the king, and the only child of his mother.
He attended primary and secondary schools in Swaziland until 1983, then from 1983 to
1986, he attended Sherborne School in north-west Dorset, England.
He was crowned as King Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at
the age of 18.
At the time, he became the youngest ruling monarch in the world.
Together with his mother, Ntombi Tfwala, now the Queen Mother, he rules the country as
an absolute monarch.
King Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy, although at least two wives are
appointed by the state, and currently has 15 wives.
He is respected and fairly popular in Swaziland, however, his policies and lavish lifestyle
have led to numerous local protests and international criticisms.
Currently, King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch; meaning that he has the
power to choose the prime minister, other top government posts, and top traditional
posts.
Even though he makes the appointments, he still has to get special advice from the queen
mother and council.
In matters of cabinet appointments, he gets advice from the prime minister.
He ruled by decree, but did restore the nation's Parliament, which had been dissolved by his
father in order to ensure concentration of power remained with the king.
In 2004, King Mswati promulgated a new constitution that allows freedom of speech, and assembly
for the media and public.
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 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 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.
King Mswati has visited Taiwan seventeen times as of June 2018, and has promised to continue
recognizing the Republic of China instead of the People's Republic of China.
When his father, King Sobhuza II died on 21 August 1982, the Great Council of State selected
the 14-year-old prince Makhosetive to be the next king.
For the next four years, two wives of King Sobhuza II, Queen Dzeliwe Shongwe and Queen
Ntfombi Tfwala, served as regent while he continued his education in the United Kingdom,
attending Sherborne School in England, before he was called back to ascend to the throne.
Mswati was introduced as Crown Prince in September 1983, and was later crowned king on 25 April
1986, aged 18 years and 6 days, and thus making him the youngest reigning monarch at the time.
He was also the youngest head of state until Joseph Kabila took office, on 26 January 2001
as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The king and his mother, whose title is Indlovukati, meaning Great She-Elephant, rule jointly.
The king currently has 15 wives and 23 children.
A Swazi king's first two wives are chosen for him by the national councillors.
There are complex rules on succession.
Traditionally, the king is chosen through his mother as represented in the Swazi saying
that "a king is king through his mother".
According to tradition, he can marry his fiancées only after they have fallen pregnant, proving
they can bear heirs.
Until then, they are termed liphovela, or "future brides".
King Mswati's reign has brought some changes in the government and political transformation.
However, critics such as the People's United Democratic Movement, PUDEMO, believe that
these changes are solely aimed at strengthening and perpetuating the traditional order.
His attendance at the May 2012 Sovereign Monarchs lunch, to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of
Queen Elizabeth II, caused some controversy, given criticisms of his regime’s human rights
record.
Swaziland has been described as having been gripped by years of fiscal indiscipline, government
corruption, and lavish lifestyles of the royal family.
The nation has also been described as being on the brink of economic disaster due to these
factors.
Under Swazi law and custom, the king is vested with virtually all powers of the state.
Despite Swaziland having a prime minister, King Mswati holds supreme executive authority
over the legislature and courts.
King Mswati's reign has been criticized for its several alleged human rights violations.
His regime has been accused of using torture and excessive force to control the masses,
as well as blatant discrimination against various dissenting groups.
His regime has been accused of extra-judicial killings by his forces, along with arbitrary
arrests, detentions, and unwarranted searches and seizures of homes and property.
His government has restricted freedom of speech, assembly and association, and has harassed
activists and journalists.
The government has reportedly targeted the LGBT community, labor leaders, and activists
against child labor, among other groups.
The courts took little or no action to punish King Mswati's actions, or the officials who
committed the abuses.
He has been accused of kidnapping women he desires to marry, although no case can be
brought against him.
In addition, in the year 2000, he allegedly called for a parliamentary meeting to debate
if HIV-positive people should be sterilized and branded.
Mswati has been criticized for his lavish lifestyle, especially by the media.
In one report, he has been accused of living a lifestyle like this, whilst the people of
his country starve.
In the 2014 national budget, parliament allocated $61 million for the King's annual household
budget, while 63% of Swazis live on less than $1.25 per day.
Following criticism of his purchase of luxury cars, including a $500,000 Daimler Chrysler's
flagship Maybach 62 luxury automobile, he banned the photography of his vehicles.
According to the Forbes 2009 list of the World's 15 Richest Royals, King Mswati is worth a
reported $200 million.
In January 2004, the Times of Swaziland reported that, the king asked his government to spend
about $15 million to redecorate three main palaces, and build others for each of his
11 wives.
The Prime Minister's Office issued a press statement saying that, the article in the
Times of Swaziland was "reckless and untrue", and that the proposal was for the construction
of 5 State Houses, not Palaces, and the cost was only €19.9 million.
Later that year, the go-ahead was given to build five new buildings, at a cost of more
than $4-million, out of public funds.
In August 2008, Swazi scouts marched through the capital, protesting the cost of a shopping
spree taken abroad by nine of the King's thirteen wives.
The demonstration was organized by Positive Living, a non-governmental organization for
Swazi women living with positive HIV-AIDS.
King Mswati has a personal stake in a large portion of Swaziland's economy, which is a
factor in its below-average economic growth for a Sub-Saharan nation.
As an absolute monarch, he holds the power to dissolve parties, and can veto any legislation
parliament passes.
According to accusations by Amnesty International, Zena Mahlangu, an 18-year-old high school
student, disappeared from her school in October 2002.
Her mother, Lindiwe Dlamini, learned that her daughter had been taken by two men, Qethuka
Sgombeni Dlamini and Tulujani Sikhondze, and she reported the matter to the police.
Sometime later, she was told that her daughter was at Ludzidzini Royal Village, and was being
prepared to be the next wife of the king.
She demanded that her daughter be returned to her custody, and threatened to sue.
Among the criteria for a liphovela, future bride, the girl must not be disabled, or a
twin; Zena Mahlangu was half of a brother-sister twin set, and therefore not eligible.
The matter went to the High Court, but Swaziland's Attorney-General, Phesheya Dlamini, intervened.
She has since had two children, and formally became the king's wife in 2010.
Amnesty International said:
The king and his agents have violated the internationally recognized human rights of
women and girls, including their right not to be arbitrarily detained, and the right
not to be subjected to forced marriage.
On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III changed the name of the country to Eswatini.
The change was to mark the country's 50th anniversary of independence.
King Mswati III wanted the name Eswatini, which is the ancient original name for the
country, and this change was to give up the previous colonial name, Swaziland.
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