The political career of Botswana 's ex-President Festus Gontebanye Mogae can be summarized under one heading: "good governance."  During his time in office from 1998 to 2008, the southern African country experienced steady economic growth and developed into one of the most prosperous on the continent. It now holds regular elections and is seen as one of the most stable countries in Africa. Mogae grew up in poverty: He was born into a family of cattle herders on August 21, 1939 in Serowe, a village in east-central Botswana. His father was the village head. Mogae only attended school for the first time at the age of 11. After training as an economist at Oxford and Sussex Universities in the UK, Festus Mogae took up a position at Botswana's Ministry of Finance and Development Planning in Gaborone in 1968, where he rose to become director of economic affairs.  This was followed by positions as permanent secretary, head of Botswana's Central Bank, and later Minister of Finance and Vice President.…