BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY
José Eduardo dos Santos
| José Eduardo dos Santos | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of Angola | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 10 September 1979 Acting: 10 September 1979 – 21 September 1979 | |
| Prime Minister | Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem Marcolino Moco Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos Paulo Kassoma[1] |
| Vice President | Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos Manuel Vicente |
| Preceded by | Agostinho Neto |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 August 1942 Luanda, Angola |
| Political party | Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola |
| Spouse(s) | Ana Paula Lemos |
| Children | Isabel José |
| Alma mater | Azerbaijan State Oil Academy |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism (Lapsed) |
José Eduardo dos Santos (born 28 August 1942)[2] is an Angolan politician who has been President of Angola since 1979. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos is also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and president of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has ruled Angola since it gained independence in 1975.[3]
Early life and education
Eduardo dos Santos, born in what is today the district of Sambizanga in Luanda,[2] is the son of Avelino Eduardo dos Santos and Jacinta José Paulino, immigrants from São Tomé and Príncipe.[4] He attended primary school in Luanda, and received his secondary education at the colonial elite school Liceu Salvador Correia,[5][6] today called Mutu ya Kevela. He began his political activity integrating clandestine groups that formed in suburban neighbourhoods of the capital, following the establishment of the MPLA.
While studying in school, José Eduardo dos Santos joined the MPLA, which marked the beginning of his political career. Due to the repression by the colonial government, dos Santos went into exile in neighbouring Congo-Brazzaville in 1961. From there he collaborated with the MPLA and soon became an official member of the party. To continue with his education he moved, once again, to the Soviet Union, where by 1969, he received degrees in petroleum engineering and in radar communications[7] from theAzerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute in Baku, Azerbaijan.[8]
Military service
In 1970 he returned to Angola, which was still a Portuguese territory known as the Overseas Province of Angola, and joined the MPLA's guerrilla forces EPLA (Exército Para a Libertação de Angola) later to be known as the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA), a branch of the MPLA, becoming a radio transmitter in the second political-military region of the MPLA in Cabinda Province. In 1974, he was promoted to sub-commander of the telecoms service of the second region. He served as the MPLA's representative to Yugoslavia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the People's Republic of China before being elected to the Central Committee[9] and Politburo of the MPLA in Moxico in September 1974.[4]
Political career
In June 1975, dos Santos became coordinator of the MPLA's Department of Foreign Affairs; he also coordinated the MPLA's Department of Health at this time. Upon Angolan independence in November 1975, the MPLA held power in Luanda, but the new MPLA government faced a civil war with the other political formations, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA); the civil war continued for most of the period until 2002. Dos Santos was appointed as Angola's first Minister of Foreign Affairs upon independence, and in this capacity he played a key role in obtaining diplomatic recognition for the MPLA government in 1975–76. At the MPLA's First Congress in December 1977, Eduardo dos Santos was re-elected to the Central Committee and Politburo. In December 1978, he was moved from the post of First Deputy Prime Minister in the government to that of Minister of Planning.[4]
After the death of Angola's first president, Agostinho Neto, on 10 September 1979, José Eduardo dos Santos was elected as President of the MPLA on 20 September 1979, and he took office as President of Angola, President of the MPLA, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on 21 September. He was also elected as President of the People's Assembly on 9 November 1980.[4]
On 29 and 30 September 1992, elections were held in Angola. José Eduardo dos Santos won the election against his main rival, Jonas Savimbi (49.5% vs. 40.7%), but since no candidate achieved the required 50% of the votes, a second round of voting was called. Eight opposition parties rejected the 1992 elections as rigged.[10] Following the election the Halloween Massacre occurred, where tens of thousands of UNITA voters were massacred nationwide by MPLA forces.[10] Savimbi then quit, alleging voting fraud, and immediately resumed the civil war, while José Eduardo dos Santos remained in office. Thus, José Eduardo dos Santos had a prominent role not only in the freedom and autonomy of Angola, but also in the achievement of peace and the establishment of a democratic regime in the country - with the MPLA party emerging as the winner of all electoral suffrages since they are held.[11]
In 2001, dos Santos announced that he would step down at the next presidential election.[12] However, in December 2003 he was reelected as head of the MPLA[13] and no further presidential election took place, despite these being announced for 2006,[14] then 2007 and finally announced that the next presidential election would be held in 2009.[15] After a legislative election in 2008 in which the ruling MPLA won a landslide victory, the party started working on a new constitution that was introduced early in 2010. Under the terms of the new constitution, the leader of the party with the most seats in Parliament automatically becomes the president of the country.
In November 2006, dos Santos helped to found the African Countries Diamond Producers Association, an organization of approximately 20 African nations founded to promote market cooperation and foreign investment in the African diamond industry.[16]
José Eduardo dos Santos reportedly escaped an assassination attempt on 24 October 2010 when a vehicle tried to intercept his car as he was returning from the beach with his family. His escort opened fire killing two passengers in the vehicle, and weapons were found on board.[17] This incident has not been confirmed by any other source. In February/March 2011, and then again in September 2011, public manifestations were organized in Luanda by young Angolans, mostly via the Internet.[18]
In the 2012 general election, his party, the MPLA, won more than two-thirds of the votes. As dos Santos had been the top candidate of the party, he automatically became the President of the Republic, in line with the constitution adopted in 2010.
In September 2014, José Eduardo dos Santos announced the end of the cumulation of the position of provincial governor with provincial first secretary of MPLA. This measure aimed to improve the operation of the provincial administration and the municipal administrations, as a way to adjust the governance model to a new context and bigger demand for public services.[19]
José Eduardo dos Santos’s role in the development of the oil sector was praised in London, during the opening of the first annual world conference to support the national business sector, which was held in October 2014. The name of the Angolan President was hailed for his commitment in the integration of the national entrepreneurship in the sector and staff training, as well as for his incentive towards young people’s training in technical areas, namely in Petroleum Engineering.[20]
In 2014, the Angolan historian and researcher, Patrício Batsîkama, released a book titled "José Eduardo dos Santos e a ideia da Nação Angolana" ("José Eduardo dos Santos and the idea of the Angolan Nation", in English). The book questions some aspects of the recent past of Angola and answers to certain curiosities regarding the participation of the President of the Republic in the struggle for national independence.[21]
José Eduardo dos Santos was named "Man of the Year 2014" by Africa World magazine. According to the newspaper, the choice of the Angolan leader is due to his contribution to the great process of economic and democratic recovery of Angola since the end of the war.[22]
Controversial Issues
Dos Santos has been accused of leading one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa by ignoring the economic and social needs of Angola and focusing his efforts on amassing wealth for his family and silencing his opposition. In Angola, nearly 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day and yet he and his family have amassed a massive sum of wealth, with stakes in the leading businesses of the nation as well as international corporations.[23]
Dos Santos became wealthy when he first took power, but only began amassing his incredibly large assets during and after the Angolan civil wars. When the ceasefire occurred and large portions of the economy were being partially privatized, he took control of several emerging companies and industries. He helped arrange similar takeovers of several other natural resource industries.[24]
Eventually the Angolan Parliament made it illegal for the president to have financial holdings in companies and organizations. In response to this, Dos Santos supposedly began arranging for his daughter to receive the financial kickbacks and assets from these companies. In addition he began using the government to take direct control of stakes in companies offered as kickbacks which he indirectly controlled and reaped the benefits of. Despite being barred from direct involvement in the nation’s corporate assets, Dos Santos has managed to still retain large corporate assets through proxies.[24]
Along with this, the government budget had grown over a decade to 69 billion dollars in 2012 through oil revenues. However the International Monetary Fund reported that there was 32 billion in oil revenue simply missing from the government’s ledger. Eventually the missing money was tracked to have been used on “quasi-fiscal activities”.[24]
It has been alleged that Dos Santos and his cabinet are responsible for silencing the media and harassing journalists who attempt to uncover details about their financial dealings.[24] But none of these assumptions were ever confirmed.
The role of the President José Eduardo dos Santos, in the growth of the Angolan economy, was the topic of a lecture held on August 28. The Angolan economist José Pedro de Morais, the lecturer, stressed the various pragmatic steps taken by the Angolan Head of State, in all stages of the complex context of the country. According to the speaker, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has always had to solve complex problems in the leadership of the country's destiny, ranging from war to the pacifying of the spirits of citizens and through economic and political stabilization.[25]
Personal life
José Eduardo dos Santos married three times and has six children from his wives, and one born out of wedlock.[26] He and his family have amassed a significant personal fortune. The actual value is unknown, but in recent years his daughter Isabel dos Santos, who manages the family fortune, has made multi-million dollar investments in Angola and in Portugal, in her name and that of her husband.[27]
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