Founder of Angola's People's Armed Forces and its first Defence Minister
After the October 1976 plenum, Carreira officially declared that "for the MPLA, the only socialism that exists is the socialism of Marx, Engels and Lenin, scientific socialism."
First Defence Minister of independent Angola, founder and commander-in-chief of the People's Armed Forces (FAPLA), and the MPLA's military strategist second only to Agostinho Neto. After the October 1976 Central Committee plenum he officially declared that 'for the MPLA, the only socialism that exists is the socialism of Marx, Engels and Lenin, scientific socialism,' marking the party's adoption of Marxism-Leninism. He directed the suppression of the 1977 Nitista uprising and its military tribunals, but lost power after Neto's death in 1979 and spent his last years denouncing Angola's 'savage capitalism.'
Career Timeline
- 1957Joined the independence movement
- 1961Deserted the Portuguese army, joined the MPLA
- 1971Secretary-General of the MPLA
- 1975–1980First Defence Minister of the People's Republic of Angola
- 1982Graduated from the Voroshilov General Staff Academy, first African officer to earn a general's diploma
- 1983–1986Commander of the People's Air Force of Angola
- 1987Ambassador to Algeria