Américo Alberto de Barros e Assis Boavida (20 November 1923 in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

– 25 September 1968), generally known as Dr. Américo Boavida, was an

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

active in his country's

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

movement. Also known as ''Ngola Kimbanda'' ("chief healer"), he attended Liceu Salvador Correia in Luanda and then traveled to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

to study medicine at the

University of Porto The University of Porto (''Universidade do Porto'') is a Portuguese public research university located in Porto, and founded on 22 March 1911. It is the second largest Portuguese university by number of enrolled students, after the University ...

. He returned to Angola in 1955 and went into private practice specializing in

Obstetrics and gynaecology Obstetrics and gynaecology (also spelled as obstetrics and gynecology; abbreviated as Obst and Gynae, O&G, OB-GYN and OB/GYN) is the medical specialty that encompasses the two subspecialties of obstetrics (covering pregnancy, childbirth, and ...

until 1960, when he joined the

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the Po ...

(MPLA). Dr. Boavida became a member of the MPLA Directing Committee for external relations, based in

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, where he also led the Angolan Volunteer Corps for Assistance of Refugees (CVAAR) from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, he left the Congo after the CVAAR was banned by the Congolese government (a period that also saw a major leadership crisis within the MPLA) and worked in

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, for three years. It was in Morocco that he wrote ''Angola: Five Centuries of Portuguese Exploitation'', an important Marxist critique of colonial rule. In June 1967, Dr. Boavida was "actively integrated in the armed struggle of the Angolan people" and practiced and taught a mixture of modern and traditional medicine among members of the

People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola () or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Angola's official armed forces when the MPLA took control o ...

(FAPLA) guerrilla army. He was killed in action in a Portuguese helicopter attack in 1968. A hospital in Luanda today bears his name. Américo Boavida married Maria da Conceição Deolinda Dias Jerónimo in

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on 21 August 1958. He had one son with kheira Ikhlasse met in Morocco, Mudumane Diógenes Van-Dúnem Boavida, born 13 October 1965.

References

* "Américo Boavida: biografia sumária." (Google cache; no longer available) * Broadhead, Susan H. ''Historical Dictionary of Angola''. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992. * "Dr. Americo Boavida: M.P.L.A. Militant." ''Sechaba'', Vol. 3. No. 2

1923 births 1968 deaths Angolan Marxists Angolan writers Angolan physicians Gynaecologists Obstetricians Marxist writers People from Luanda University of Porto alumni Angolan expatriates in Portugal {{Angola-writer-stub