Fernando José de França Dias Van-Dúnem (24 August 1934 – 12 June 2024) was an Angolan politician who was the First Vice-President of the

African Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The b ...

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

.Biographical details at PAP website
. He was a member of the ruling

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) and served as

Prime Minister of Angola The prime minister of Angola was a high government official in Angola re-established by Angola's 1992 constitution with limited powers as deputy head of government. Along with the rest of the Council of Ministers, the prime minister was appoin ...

twice during the 1990s. Dias Van-Dúnem was Prime Minister from June 1991 until December 1992 and was the first Prime Minister appointed since the post was abolished in 1978. After four years out of office, Dias was reappointed Prime Minister on 3 June 1996 and remained in office until a cabinet reshuffle in January 1999, when the post of Prime Minister was again eliminated.

Education

Dias Van-Dúnem received a

Master's Degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in Public Law, and a Ph.D. in Public Law, both in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Early work

From 1964 to 1965 Dias Van-Dúnem was a

research assistant A research assistant (RA) is a researcher employed, often on a temporary contract, by a university, research institute, or privately held organization to provide assistance in academic or private research endeavors. Research assistants work under ...

for Professor Maarten Bos regarding

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

at the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

in the Netherlands In that same year he conducted a study on Recognition of States and Government. He was a member of the

American Society of International Law American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

from 1964 onwards. For three years starting in 1969 to 1971 he was a lecturer on Public International Law, Constitutional Law and Administrative Law at University of Burundi in

Bujumbura Bujumbura (; ), formerly Usumbura, is the economic capital, largest city and main port of Burundi. It ships most of the country's chief export, coffee, as well as cotton and tin ore. Bujumbura was formerly the country's political capital. In la ...

, Burundi.

International work

For two years starting in 1970 he was Deputy Legal Advisor to the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; , OUA) was an African intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 33 signatory governments. Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and ec ...

. From 1972 to 1978 he was Chief Personnel Officer of the same organization. For one year starting in 1978 Ambassador Van-Dúnem was OAU Deputy Representative for Political and Legal Affairs near the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, Switzerland. From 1979 to 1982 he was Extraordinary and

Plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the People's Republic of Angola to Belgium, the Netherlands and the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. For four years starting in 1982 he was Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the People's Republic of Angola to Portugal and Spain.

National service

From 1985 to 1986, Dias Van-Dúnem was Deputy Minister of External Relations, and from 1986 to 1990 he was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. He was Minister of Planning from 1990 to 1991, then Prime Minister from 1991 to 1992. After serving as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

National Assembly of Angola The National Assembly () is the legislative branch of the government of Angola. Angola is a unicameral country so the National Assembly is the only legislative chamber at the national level. The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (M ...

from 1992 to 1996, he was Prime Minister for a second time from 1996 to 1999. Dias Van-Dúnem was a member of the National Assembly of Angola in 1999. At the same time, he was a

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

International Law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

, History of

Political Thought Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from ...

, and a member of the Faculty of Law at

Catholic University of Angola The Catholic University of Angola (''Universidade Católica de Angola'', UCAN) is a Catholic institution in Angola's capital of Luanda. On 7 August 1992, the government of Angola allowed the Angolan Catholic Church to establish its own university. ...

. Dias Van-Dúnem was the 71st candidate on the MPLA's national list in the September 2008 parliamentary election.List of deputies elected in the 2008 election
, CNE website . Van-Dúnem won a seat in this election, in which MPLA won an overwhelming majority.

Death

Dias Van-Dúnem died in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, Portugal on 12 June 2024, at the age of 89.

References