The ambassador of Russia to Lesotho is the official representative of the president and the government of the Russian Federation to the king and the government of Lesotho.
The ambassador to Lesotho since 1992 is a non-resident ambassador, who has dual accreditation as the ambassador to South Africa, where he and his staff work at large in the Russian embassy in Pretoria. The current Russian ambassador to Lesotho is , incumbent since 6 September 2024.
History of diplomatic relations
Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Lesotho were established on 1 February 1980. Relations were initially handled through the Soviet embassy in Mozambique, with the Soviet ambassador to Mozambique, , having dual accreditation to Lesotho from 24 April 1983. The embassy in Maseru was opened in 1985, and the first ambassador solely accredited to Lesotho, , was appointed on 2 April 1985. With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Lesotho recognised the Russian Federation as its successor state. The Russian embassy in Lesotho was closed in September 1992, and since 31 December 1992, the Russian ambassador to South Africa has had dual accreditation to Lesotho.
List of representatives of Russia to Lesotho (1983–present) Ambassadors of the Soviet Union to Lesotho (1983–1991) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAmbassador24 April 19832 April 1985Concurrently ambassador to MozambiqueCredentials presented on 9 June 1983 Ambassador2 April 198512 October 1988 Ambassador12 October 1988 10 October 1990Anatoly MkrtchyanAmbassador10 October 199025 December 1991
Ambassadors of the Russian Federation to Lesotho (1992–present) NameTitleAppointmentTerminationNotesAnatoly MkrtchyanAmbassador25 December 19912 November 1992Ambassador31 December 19928 August 1997Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaAmbassador8 August 199728 November 2000Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaAmbassador28 November 200022 June 2006Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaAmbassador22 June 200620 February 2012Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaAmbassador20 February 20123 July 2019Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaAmbassador3 July 20196 September 2024Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaCredentials presented on 5 December 2019 Ambassador6 September 2024Concurrently ambassador to South AfricaCredentials presented on 27 March 2025
References