Angola after Neto
Took over as president after Neto's death in 1979 and remained in office until 2017. He led the first round of the 1992 multiparty election, but no runoff was held, and the civil war ended after Savimbi's death in 2002.
He succeeded Neto as Angolan president in 1979. Educated in the USSR, he had served as planning minister. He led the MPLA state amid civil war and oil dependence and favored a pragmatic approach recognizing a role for private enterprise.
Activities and affiliations
-
1974–2017
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA)Party President
Political and party leadership -
1979–
Angola state institutionsPresident of AngolaMain
Political and party leadership
Career Timeline
- 1961Joined the MPLA amid colonial repression; went into exile in Congo-Brazzaville
- 1975First minister of foreign affairs after independence
- 1978First deputy prime minister and minister of planning
- 1979Elected MPLA president; became president of Angola
- 1980President of the one-party People's Assembly
- 1992Elected president in multiparty election, defeating Savimbi
- 2002Civil war with UNITA brought to an end
- 2017Stepped down; succeeded by João Lourenço
Related historical events
State and economic-policy context
He succeeded Neto as Angolan president in 1979. Educated in the USSR, he had served as planning minister. He led the MPLA state amid civil war and oil dependence and favored a pragmatic approach recognizing a role for private enterprise.
The departure of Portuguese technical and managerial personnel and civil war damaged farming, transport and manufacturing. State takeovers confronted shortages of skills, spare parts and distribution capacity. Oil earnings supported public finance without automatically restoring rural production.