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HE David Newman

Ambassador of Botswana

On 3rd August 2015, Ambassador Newman presented his credentials to President Barack Obama, thereby becoming the 12th Ambassador Extraordinary & Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Botswana to the United States of America.

For ten years prior to his appointment as Ambassador-Designate, Ambassador Newman served as Judge of the High Court of Botswana, and sat from time to time as Judge of the Botswana Court of Appeal. From 2009 to 20012, he also represented the Administration of Justice in the Design and Build of the High Court and Court of Appeal Headquarters, and chaired the committee charged with the relocation of both Courts to Gaborone. Between 2006 and 2014, Ambassador Newman also conducted an internship program for law students from the Universities of Cincinnati and Pennsylvania.

Prior to devoting himself to public service in 2004, Ambassador Newman worked for twenty years in Botswana as an attorney, conveyancer and notary public, and for fourteen of those years was managing partner in the legal firm of Collins Newman & Co., specializing in corporate, commercial, property and mining transactions, civil litigation and conveyancing. During that time, he also had a number of personal business interests, primarily in the fields of energy and property development.

Ambassador Newman’s first appointment in Botswana was in 1982, as senior lecturer in the law department at the University of Botswana. Previously, he had lectured in law at the University of Malawi, after obtaining a law degree and qualifying as a Barrister (Middle Temple) in the United Kingdom. Whilst in Malawi, he published a textbook on Criminal Procedure & Evidence.

Since its creation in 2002, Ambassador Newman has served as a Trustee of the Lady Khama Charitable Trust in Botswana. He has seven children, four of whom have joined him and his wife, Changu, in Washington D.C. He enjoys most sporting activities, particularly cycling.

August 3, 2016 at the The Hay-Adams Hotel