# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/letsie-iii-of-lesotho
# Generated: 2026-09-04T22:06:38.064Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/letsie-iii-of-lesotho"
name: "Letsie III of Lesotho"
slug: "letsie-iii-of-lesotho"
description: "The king who ascended twice — first when his father was exiled, then again after a fatal car crash — and used the throne to name HIV/AIDS a national disaster in a country where the epidemic was silently hollowing out a generation."
tagline: "King of Lesotho since 1996"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Letsie_III.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1963-07-17"
livingStatus: "LIVING"
scores:
  popularity:           61.64
  momentum:             8.110047846889952
  historical:           23.76018533333334
  currentAttention:     45.05582137161085
  sourceConfidence:     70
  profileCompleteness:  70
  trendDirection:       "RISING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "20th Century"
    slug: "20th-century"
platforms:
  - platform:  "X"
    url:       "https://x.com/TheKingLetsie"
    handle:    "TheKingLetsie"
  - platform:  "WEBSITE"
    url:       "http://www.lesotho.gov.ls/articles/2004/King_Birth_2004/king.html"
sources:
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III_of_Lesotho"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q57537"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Letsie%20III%20of%20Lesotho"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ang.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III_Basuta_Cyning"
    title: "Letsie III Basuta Cyning"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%8A_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AB"
    title: "ليتسي الثالث"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AA%D8%B3%D9%89_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA"
    title: "ليتسى التالت"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ast.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://azb.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%DB%86%DA%86%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%88_%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B3%DB%8C_(%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AA%D9%88)"
    title: "اۆچونجو لتسی (لسوتو)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/III_Letsie"
    title: "III Letsie"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D1%96%D0%B5_III"
    title: "Летсіе III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9B%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B5_III"
    title: "Летсие III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://co.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III_di_Lezotu"
    title: "Letsie III di Lezotu"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III."
    title: "Letsie III."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III%2C_brenin_Lesotho"
    title: "Letsie III, brenin Lesotho"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_3._af_Lesotho"
    title: "Letsie 3. af Lesotho"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III."
    title: "Letsie III."
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%9B%CE%B5%CF%84%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B5_%CE%93%CE%84_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%9B%CE%B5%CF%83%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%BF"
    title: "Λετσίε Γ΄ του Λεσότο"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_la_3-a_(Lesoto)"
    title: "Letsie la 3-a (Lesoto)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III_de_Lesoto"
    title: "Letsie III de Lesoto"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III.a_Lesothokoa"
    title: "Letsie III.a Lesothokoa"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B3%DB%8C_%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%85"
    title: "لتسی سوم"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pl.wikiquote.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ami.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letsie_III"
    title: "Letsie III"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born Mohato Bereng Seeiso on 17 July 1963, Letsie became King of Lesotho in 1990 when his father, Moshoeshoe II, was forced into exile. The throne shuffled in 1995 when his father was briefly restored, only for a car crash in early 1996 to kill him and return Letsie to a second reign. As a constitutional monarch, his role is largely ceremonial, but in 2000 he took a defining step: he declared HIV/AIDS a natural disaster, triggering immediate national and international response in a country where the epidemic had been quietly devastating. The declaration remains the sharpest use of his symbolic power.