General Paulo Armindo Lukamba "Gato" (born Armindo Lucas Paulo on May 13, 1954) led

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( pt, União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the Popular Movement for ...

, a former anti-colonial movement that fought against the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...

in the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

, from the death of António Dembo on March 3, 2002Angola in Peace
''African Geopolitics'' quarterly magazine until he lost the 2003 leadership election to Isaías Samakuva. Lukamba was born in the province of

Huambo Huambo, formerly Nova Lisboa (English: ''New Lisbon''), is the third-most populous city in Angola, after the capital city Luanda and Lubango, with a population of 595,304 in the city and a population of 713,134 in the municipality of Huambo (Cens ...

, in central

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

History

Lukamba joined UNITA during the

Carnation revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

. He eventually served eight years in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as UNITA's representative there. From 1995 until the death of

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary politician and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). UNITA waged a guerrilla war agai ...

in February 2002, Lukamba served as UNITA's Secretary-General. Upon Savimbi's death and the subsequent death of Vice President António Dembo just 10 days later from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and battle wounds, Lukamba assumed control of the rebel group. Lukamba led UNITA in negotiations that ended the

in April 2002. Lukamba led UNITA's political party until 2003 when Isaías Samakuva won the leadership election. Samakuva is the President of UNITA until November 2019. Lukamba was the fifth candidate on UNITA's national list in the September 2008 parliamentary election. He was one of 16 UNITA candidates to win seats in the election.List of deputies elected in the 2008 election
, CNE website .

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070927174722/http://www.african-geopolitics.org/show.aspx?ArticleId=3583 Angola in peace {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukamba, Paulo 1954 births Living people Angolan rebels People of the Angolan Civil War Members of the National Assembly (Angola) UNITA politicians 20th-century Angolan people 21st-century Angolan people