Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (August 3, 1934–February 22, 2002) led
UNITAThe National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one of...
, an
anti-CommunistAnti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism, especially Marxism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the growing popularity of the communist movement, and took on many forms during the 20th century....
rebel group that fought against the
MPLAThe Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Party of Labour is an Angolan political party that has ruled the country since independence of the then Portuguese Angola in 1975...
in the
Angolan Civil WarThe Angolan Civil War began in Angola after the end of the war for independence from Portugal in 1975. The war featured conflict between two primary Angolan factions, the Communist MPLA and the anti-Communist UNITA...
until his death in a clash with Government troops in 2002.
With support from the governments of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
,
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, several
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
n leaders (
Félix Houphouët-BoignyFélix Houphouët-Boigny , affectionately called Papa Houphouët or Le Vieux, was the first President of Côte d'Ivoire...
of
Côte d'Ivoire' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
,
Mobutu Sese SekoMobutu Sésé Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sésé Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, became the President of Zaire after deposing Joseph Kasavubu. He remained in office for 31.5 years...
of
ZaireThe Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971, and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".Known as the Belgian Congo up until its...
, King Hassan II of
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
and
Kenneth KaundaKenneth David Kaunda, affectionately known as KK served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:...
of
ZambiaThe Republic of Zambia is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is...
), and foreign mercenaries from
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
,
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
,
South AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.Modern...
, and
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, Savimbi spent much of his life battling Angola's Marxist-inspired government, which was supported by weapons and military advisers from the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
,
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
, and
NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
(under the
SandinistasThe Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
). The war ultimately became one of the most prominent
Third WorldThe term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or neutral with either capitalism and NATO or communism and the Soviet Union...
conflicts of the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
.
Early years
Jonas Savimbi was born on August 3, 1934 in Munhango, a small
town on the
Benguela RailwayThe Benguela railway is operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the eastern bordertown of Luau and to the rail networks of south-eastern DR Congo, of Zambia and beyond.-Operation:...
and raised in Angola's central province of Bié, which together with
HuamboFormerly Nova Lisboa Huambo is the capital of Huambo province in Angola. The city is located about 220 km E from Benguela and 600 km SE from Luanda. The city's last known population count was 225,268...
later served as his power base during the civil war. Savimbi's father, Lote, was a stationmaster on Angola's
Benguela railwayThe Benguela railway is operated by the Caminho de Ferro de Benguela that connects the Atlantic port of Lobito, Angola, to the eastern bordertown of Luau and to the rail networks of south-eastern DR Congo, of Zambia and beyond.-Operation:...
line and a
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
preacher. Both of his parents were members of the
OvimbunduThe Ovimbundu are an ethnic group consisting of traders, farmers, and herders who live on the Bié Plateau of central Angola. They speak both Portuguese and the Bantu language of Umbundu. As the largest ethnic group in Angola, they make up 37 percent of the country's population...
tribe, which later served as Savimbi's major political base.
Savimbi was an unusually bright student and was accepted to a
PortuguesePortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
high school, where he graduated at the top of his class. In 1958, he was accepted to
medical schoolA medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine.In addition to a medical degree program, some medical schools offer programs leading to a Master's Degree, Doctor of Philosophy , or other post-secondary education. Medical schools can also...
in
LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
. In Lisbon, Savimbi began his political involvement, calling for an end to Portuguese colonialism in Angola. His opposition drew the ire of the Portuguese secret police, which tried to get Savimbi to reveal the names of those in Angola who shared his view. Under this pressure, Savimbi fled Portugal for
LausanneLausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, situated on the shores of Lake Geneva , and facing Évian-les-Bains and with the Jura mountains to its north-west. Lausanne is located some northeast of Geneva. It is the capital of the canton of Vaud and of the district of...
,
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
. In Lausanne, Savimbi abandoned the study of medicine for that of politics, ultimately obtaining his doctorate in 1965 from the
University of LausanneThe University of Lausanne or UNIL in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...
, where his courses were taught in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
.
Following Angola's independence in 1975, Savimbi gradually drew the intrigue of powerful
ChineseThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
and, ultimately,
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
policymakers and intellectuals. Trained in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
during the 1960s, Savimbi was a highly successful guerrilla fighter schooled in classic Maoist approaches to warfare, including baiting his enemies with multiple military fronts, some of which attacked and some of which consciously retreated. Like the Chinese
Red ArmyThe Red Army The Red Army The Red Army was the Soviet government’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the USSR. Since 1946, after the Second World War, it was called the Soviet Army.The 'Red...
of
Mao ZedongMao Zedong was a Chinese revolutionary, political theorist and Communist leader. He led the People's Republic of China from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976...
, Savimbi mobilized large segments of the rural peasantry as part of his military tactics. From a military strategy standpoint, he is generally considered one of the most effective guerrilla leaders of the 20th century.
While Savimbi originally sought a leadership position in the Marxist MPLA, he later denounced Marxism and joined forces with the FNLA in 1964. The same year he conceived
UNITAThe National Union for the Total Independence of Angola is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought with the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in the Angolan War for Independence and then against the MPLA in the ensuing civil war .The war was one of...
with
Antonio da Costa FernandesAntonio da Costa Fernandes served as UNITA's representative to the United Kingdom. Along with Jonas Savimbi, he was co-founder of UNITA.Costa Fernandes studied with Savimbi, the future leader of UNITA, in Switzerland...
. Savimbi went to China for help and was promised arms and military training. Upon returning to Angola in 1966 he formally launched UNITA and began his career as an anti-Portuguese guerrilla fighter, but also fought the FNLA and MPLA, as the three resistance movements tried to position themselves to lead a post-colonial Angola. Portugal would later release
PIDEThe Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado or PIDE , was the main tool of repression used by the authoritarian regime of António de Oliveira Salazar in Portugal, the Estado Novo....
archives revealing that Savimbi in fact signed a collaboration pact with Portuguese colonial authorities to fight the MPLA.
Complementing his military skills, Savimbi also impressed many with his intellectual qualities. He fluently spoke seven languages, including four European languages and three African languages. In visits with foreign diplomats and in speeches before American audiences, he often cited classical Western political and social philosophy, ultimately becoming one of the most vocal anti-communists of the Third World.
Some dismiss this intellectualism as nothing more than careful handling by his politically savvy American supporters, who sought to present Savimbi as a clear alternative to Angola's regime. But others saw it as genuine and a product of the guerrilla leader's raw intelligence. Savimbi's biography describes him as "...an incredible linguist. He spoke four European languages, including English although he had never lived in an English-speaking country. He was extremely well read. He was an extremely fine conversationalist and a very good listener."
These contrasting images of Savimbi would play out throughout his life, with his enemies calling him a power-hungry warmonger, and his American and other allies calling him a critical figure in the West's bid to win the Cold War.
Savimbi's Washington allies
Savimbi's war against Angola's Marxist government became a sub-plot to the Cold War, with both
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
and Washington viewing the conflict as important to the global balance of power. In 1985, with the backing of the
ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California .Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s...
administration,
Jack AbramoffJack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist, businessman and con man who was a central figure in a series of high-profile political scandals. He is currently incarcerated at the satellite prison camp adjacent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland...
and other U.S. conservatives organized the
Democratic InternationalThe Democratic International, also known as the Jamboree in Jamba, was a 1985 meeting of anti-Communist militants held at the headquarters of UNITA in Jamba, Angola....
in Savimbi's base in Jamba, in Cuando Cubango Province in southeastern Angola. The meeting included most of the anti-communist guerrilla leaders of the Third World, including Savimbi, Nicaraguan
contraThe Contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle...
leader
Adolfo CaleroAdolfo Calero Portocarrero was a Nicaraguan businessman, and leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which was the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government....
, and Abdul Rahim Wardak, then leader of
AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
's
mujahideenA Mujahideen is a person who is fighting for freedom. The plural is mujahideen . The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad ....
who now serves as Afghanistan's Defense Minister.
Equally important, Savimbi also was strongly supported by the influential, conservative
Heritage FoundationThe Heritage Foundation is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C.The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies drew significantly from Heritage's policy study Mandate for Leadership. Heritage has since continued to...
. Heritage Foundation foreign policy analyst
Michael JohnsMichael Johns is an American health care executive, former federal government of the United States official and conservative policy analyst and writer.-Biography:...
and other conservatives visited regularly with Savimbi in his clandestine camps in Jamba and provided the rebel leader with ongoing political and military guidance in his war against the Angolan government. Savimbi's U.S.-based supporters ultimately proved successful in convincing the
Central Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government.It is an independent agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior United States policymakers....
to channel covert weapons and recruit guerrillas for Savimbi's war against Angola's Marxist government, which greatly intensified and prolonged the conflict.
During a visit to
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
in 1986, Reagan invited Savimbi to meet with him at the
White HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the residence of every...
. Following the meeting, Reagan spoke of UNITA winning "a victory that electrifies the world."
Two years later, with the Angolan Civil War intensifying, Savimbi returned to Washington, where he was filled with gratitude and praise for the Heritage Foundation's work on UNITA's behalf. "When we come to the Heritage Foundation", Savimbi said during a June 30, 1988 speech at the foundation, "it is like coming back home. We know that our success here in Washington in repealing the Clark Amendment and obtaining American assistance for our cause is very much associated with your efforts. This foundation has been a source of great support. The UNITA leadership knows this, and it is also known in Angola."
Savimbi's military success
As U.S. support began to flow liberally and leading U.S. conservatives championed his cause, Savimbi won major strategic battles in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and Moscow and
HavanaHavana is the capital city, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city is one of the 14 Cuban provinces. The city/province has 2.4 million inhabitants, and the urban area over 3.7 million, making Havana the largest city in both Cuba and the Caribbean region...
began to reevaluate their engagement in Angola, as Soviet and
CubanCubans are people inhabiting or originating from Cuba. Most Cubans live in Cuba, although there is also a large Cuban diaspora, especially in the United States.-Demographics:...
fatalities mounted and Savimbi's ground control increased. At the height of his military success, Savimbi controlled nearly half the country and was beginning, in 1989 and 1990, to launch attacks on government and military targets in and around the country's capital,
LuandaLuanda is the capital and largest city of Angola. Located on Angola's coast with the Atlantic Ocean, Luanda is both Angola's chief seaport and administrative center and has a population of at least 5 million . It is also the capital city of Luanda Province. Luanda is located at...
. Observers felt that the strategic balance in Angola had shifted and that Savimbi was positioning UNITA for a possible military victory.
Signaling the concern that the former Soviet Union was placing on Savimbi's advance in Angola, former Soviet leader
Mikhail GorbachevMikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was the second-to-last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991...
raised the Angolan war with Reagan during numerous U.S.-Soviet summits. In addition to meeting with Reagan, Savimbi also met with Reagan's successor,
George H. W. BushGeorge Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States . He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence....
, who promised Savimbi "all appropriate and effective assistance."
In January 1990 and again in February 1990, Savimbi was wounded in armed conflict with Angolan government troops. But the injuries did not prevent him from again returning to Washington, D.C., where he met with his American supporters and President George H. W. Bush in an effort to further increase U.S. military assistance to UNITA. Savimbi's supporters warned that continued Soviet support for the MPLA was threatening broader global collaboration between Gorbachev and the U.S.
Under military pressure from UNITA, the Angolan government negotiated a cease-fire with Savimbi, and Savimbi ran for president in the national elections of 1992. Foreign monitors claimed the election to be fair. But because neither Savimbi nor Angolan President
José Eduardo dos SantosJosé Eduardo dos Santos is the current President of Angola, having served in that position since 1979. He is also the President of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola .-Biography:...
obtained the 50 percent necessary to prevail, a run-off election was scheduled.
In late October 1992, Savimbi dispatched UNITA Vice President
Jeremias ChitundaJeremias Kalandula Chitunda served as the Vice President of UNITA until his assassination in Luanda, as part of the Halloween Massacre shortly after the first round of the presidential election, held on September 29-30...
and UNITA senior advisor
Elias Salupeto PenaElias Salupeto Pena served as the representative of UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War, to the Joint Military and Political Commission...
to Luanda to negotiate the details of the run-off election. But on November 2, 1992 in Luanda, Chitunda and Pena's convoy was attacked by government forces and they were both pulled from their car and shot dead. Their bodies were confiscated by government authorities and never seen again. The offensive against Chitunda, Pena and other UNITA officials has come to be known as the
Halloween MassacreThe Halloween Massacre refers to events which took place from October 30 to November 1, 1992 in Luanda, Angola as part of the Angolan Civil War.-Context:...
.
Alleging governmental electoral fraud and questioning the government's commitment to peace, Savimbi withdrew from the run-off election and resumed fighting, mostly with foreign funds. UNITA again quickly advanced militarily, encircling the nation's capital of Luanda.
One of Savimbi's largest sources of financial support was the
De BeersDe Beers and the various companies within the De Beers Family of Companies engage in exploration for diamonds, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacture....
Corporation, which bought between $500 and $800 million worth of illegally mined diamonds in 1992-1993. In 1994, UNITA signed a new peace accord, but Savimbi declined the vice-presidency that was offered to him and again renewed fighting in 1998.
Savimbi also purportedly purged some of those within UNITA who he may have seen as threats to his leadership or questioned his strategic course. Savimbi's foreign secretary,
Tito ChingunjiTito Chingunji served as the foreign secretary of Angola's UNITA rebel movement in the 1980s and early 1990s. In the mid-1980s, he was UNITA's representative in Washington, D.C....
and his family, were executed in 1991 after Savimbi suspected that Chingunji had been in secret, unapproved negotiations with the Angolan government during Chingunji's various diplomatic assignments in Europe and the United States. Savimbi denied his involvement in the Chingunji killing and blamed it on two UNITA dissidents.
2002: Killed in combat
After surviving more than a dozen assassination attempts, Savimbi was killed on February 22, 2002, in a battle with Angolan government troops - and, reportedly, South African mercenaries and Israeli special forces - along riverbanks in the province of
MoxicoMoxico is the largest province of the African nation of Angola. It has an area of 223,023 km² and a population of approximately 230,000. Luena is the capital of the province.Moxico is best known as the birthplace of UNITA rebel leader Jonas Savimbi...
, his birthplace. In the firefight, Savimbi sustained 15 machine gun bullets to his head, throat, upper body and legs. While Savimbi returned gun fire, the blows proved immediately fatal.
Savimbi's somewhat mystical reputation for eluding the Angolan military and their Soviet and Cuban military advisors led many Angolans to question the validity of reports of his 2002 death. Not until pictures of his bloodied and bullet-ridden body appeared on Angolan state television, and the
United States State DepartmentThe United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, similar to foreign ministries, foreign offices, ministries of external relations, etc. in other countries...
subsequently confirmed it, did the reports of Savimbi's death in combat gain credence in the country.
Savimbi was interred in
Luena, Moxico ProvinceLuena is a town located in east central Angola. It is the administrative capital of Moxico Province. While no exact figures are available, estimates on the population of the city varies from 60,000 to 200,000 residents, including an unknown number of refugees from the Angolan Civil War that...
, in east central Angola. In January 2008, his gravesite was vandalized by MPLA party activists, two of whom were arrested.
UNITA after Savimbi
Savimbi was succeeded by
António DemboGeneral António Sebastião Dembo served as Vice President and later President of UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War....
, who assumed UNITA's leadership on an interim basis in February 2002. But Dembo had sustained wounds in the same attack that killed Savimbi, and he ended up dying from them ten days later. Dembo was succeeded by
Paulo LukambaGeneral Paulo Lukamba "Gato" led UNITA, an anti-Communist rebel group that fought against the MPLA in the Angolan Civil War, from the death of António Dembo on March 3, 2002 until he lost the 2003 leadership election to Isaías Samakuva.Lukamba was born in the province of Huambo, in central...
. In 2003, Lukamba was succeeded by
Isaías SamakuvaIsaías Henrique Ngola Samakuva is an Angolan politician who has been the President of the UNITA since 2003.Born in Kunji, Bié Province, Samakuva joined UNITA in 1974. He was an official UNITA ambassador in Europe from 1989 to 1994 and again from 1998 to 2002...
, who served as UNITA's ambassador to Europe under Savimbi and has headed UNITA ever since.
Six weeks following Savimbi's death, a ceasefire between UNITA and the MPLA was signed, but Angola remains deeply divided politically between MPLA and UNITA supporters.
Parliamentary elections in September 2008A legislative election was held in Angola on September 5 and September 6, 2008, as announced by President José Eduardo dos Santos on December 27, 2007. The 220 seats in the National Assembly are at stake...
resulted in an overwhelming majority for the MPLA, but their legitimacy was questioned by international observers.
Presidential electionsAngola will hold a presidential election in late 2009 or early 2010. Voter registration took place in late 2006 and through 2007. The election was originally meant to be held in 1997, but it was postponed numerous times due to organizational and logistical problems.In a 45-page report released on...
are planned for 2009.
Quotes
- "I am not communist because it serves no purpose. Nor am I a capitalist. Socialism in this country is the only answer. Those who led the country to independence cannot become the exploiters of the people. We want a socialist system, but which? There is the orthodox one and the extremist one. We want the democratic one, social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the political left and centre-left on the classic political spectrum. Social democracy emerged in the late 19th century from the socialist movement and continues to exert influence worldwide....
." - Savimbi on his ideology
- "I am against nationalization; it is a disease which saps the strength of a national economy. The real question is the renegotiation of allowable profits. Foreign companies need their profits, they would not invest without them. But the people of Angola need their share. When Angola is independent the investors must know that the people will have a greater share."
- "We support completely the atmosphere of détente
Détente is a French term, meaning a relaxing or easing; the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s. Generally, it may be applied to any international situation where previously hostile nations not involved in an open war de-escalate tensions through diplomacy and...
. There is a need to live together peacefully in this area, that is a must. That is why we back completely the initiatives of Presidents KaundaKenneth David Kaunda, affectionately known as KK served as the first President of Zambia, from 1964 to 1991.-Early life:...
, NyerereJulius Kambarage Nyerere served as the first President of Tanzania and previously Tanganyika, from the country's founding in 1961 until his retirement in 1985....
and Seretse KhamaSir Seretse Khama, KBE was an African stateman. Born into the royal family of what was then the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, and educated abroad in neighbouring South Africa and in the United Kingdom, he returned home -- with a popular but controversial bride -- to lead his country's...
. Prime Minister VorsterBalthazar Johannes Vorster , better known as John Vorster , served as the Prime Minister of South Africa from 1966 to 1978 and as President from 1978 to 1979...
is an intelligent leader and he must know that the independence of Angola will have an effect on South Africa. I hope the future leader of this country will be realistic. We have a dam at CuneneCunene is a province of Angola. It has an area of 87,342 km² and a population of approximately 200,000Ondjiva is the capital of the province. Municipalities in this province include Cahama, Kuvelai, Namakunde, Santa-Clara, Xangongo....
. We have investments involving South Africa. Should we ostracize them? I hope that a leader here will be realistic enough to cooperate with any country despite differences in political systems."
- "Only elections — free elections — under OAU
The Organisation of African Unity or Organisation de l'Unité Africaine was established on 25 May 1963. It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairperson, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union .-Aims:The OAU had two primary aims:* To promote the unity and...
control can provide a final solution. But first there will have to be a short period of transitional government in which both sides would be represented. But in the end, the ballot must decide, not bullets."
Books
- The War Against Soviet Colonialism: The Strategy and Tactics of Anti-Communist Resistance, Winter 1986. Policy Review
Policy Review is one of America's leading conservative journals. It was founded by the Heritage Foundation and was for many years the foundation's flagship publication...
, Volume 35.
Further reading
- Bridgland, Fred. Jonas Savimbi: A Key to Africa. Hodder & Stoughton General Division. ISBN 0340422181
- Christine Messiant, "Les Eglises et la dernière guerre en Angola. Les voies difficiles de l'engagement pour une paix juste", LFM. Social sciences & missions, No.13, Oct. 2003, pp.75-117
External links
- Jonas Savimbi at the Notable Names Database.
- French interview of Jonas Savimbi, 1978.
- "White House Statement on the President's Meeting with Jonas Savimbi", June 30, 1988.
- "The Coming Winds of Democracy in Angola", Jonas Savimbi speech to the Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C.The foundation took a leading role in the conservative movement during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, whose policies drew significantly from Heritage's policy study Mandate for Leadership. Heritage has since continued to...
, October 5, 1989.
- Jonas Savimbi speaks in Angolan capital of Luanda, 1991.
- "Genocide of Christians in Angola, UN and the resistance of UNITA", Webarchive, 2000.
- "Angola Rebels Demand Death Probe", BBC News
BBC News, formerly BBC News and Current Affairs, is the department within the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the corporation's news-gathering and production of news programmes on BBC television, radio and online....
, February 28, 2002.