Mswati III

Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is Ngwenyama (King) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wives, Ntfombi Tfwala. He was crowned as Mswati III, Ingwenyama and King of Swaziland, on 25 April 1986 at the age of 18, thus becoming the youngest ruling monarch in the world at that time. With unrestricted political power and able to rule by decree, Mswati III (together with his mother, Ntfombi Tfwala, now Queen Mother (Ndlovukati)) is the last remaining absolute monarch in Africa and one of the only 12 remaining absolute national or subnational monarchs in the world. Under the constitution, the king is the commander-in-chief of the defence force and commissioner-in-chief of police and correctional services and Mswati III exercises ultimate authority over all branches of the national government and effectively controls local governance through his influence over traditional chiefs. Mswati III is known for his practice of polygamy (although at least two wives are appointed by the state) and currently has 15 wives. Formerly named Swaziland, in 2018 Mswati III renamed the country Eswatini (formally the Kingdom of Eswatini) by decree.