José Eduardo Dos Santos
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José Eduardo Van-Dúnem dos Santos (; 28 August 1942 – 8 July 2022) was an Angolan politician and military officer who served as the second
president of Angola The president of Angola () is both head of state and head of government in Angola. According to the constitution adopted in 2010, the post of prime minister is abolished; executive authority belongs to the president who has also a degree of l ...
from 1979 to 2017. As president, dos Santos was 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 won independence in 1975. By the time he stepped down in 2017, he was the second-longest-serving president in Africa, surpassed only by
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (; born 5 June 1942) is an Equatoguinean politician, former commissioned officer, military officer and dictator who has served as the second president of Equatorial Guinea since 1982. Previously, he was the Chairm ...
of
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
. Dos Santos joined the MPLA, then an anti-colonial movement, while still in school, and earned degrees in
petroleum engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...
and radar communications while studying in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Following the
Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), known as the Armed Struggle of National Liberation (Portuguese: ''Luta Armada de Libertação Nacional'') in Angola, was a war of independence fought between the Angolan nationalist forces ...
, Angola was constituted in 1975 as a Marxist–Leninist
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
led by the MPLA. Dos Santos held several positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of independent Angola's first president,
Agostinho Neto António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1922 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan Communism, communist politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the MPLA, Popular Movement for the Liberation of ...
. After Neto's death in 1979, dos Santos was elected by the MPLA as the country's new president, supported by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and inheriting a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
against Western-backed anti-communist rebels, most notably
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...
. By 1991, his government agreed with rebels to introduce a
multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system where more than two meaningfully-distinct political parties regularly run for office and win elections. Multi-party systems tend to be more common in countries using proportional ...
, while changing the MPLA's ideology from communism to
social democracy Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
. He was elected president in the
1992 Angolan general election General elections were held in Angola on 29 and 30 September 1992 to elect a President of Angola, President and National Assembly of Angola, National Assembly, the first time free and multi-party elections had been held in the country. They foll ...
over UNITA leader
Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita 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 was on ...
, and presided over free-market economic liberalisation and the development of Angola's oil sector. In 1997, he contributed to a rebel invasion of neighboring
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
during the
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, leading to the overthrow of Congolese UNITA ally
Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
and the installation of
Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (; 27 November 1939 – 16 January 2001) usually known as Laurent Kabila or Kabila the Father (American English, US: ), was a Congolese rebel and politician who served as the third president of the Democratic Republic of t ...
as
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo The president of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (, , Lingala: ''Mokonzi wa Republíki ya Kongó Demokratíki'') is the head of state of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Repu ...
later that year. During the
Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...
from 1998 to 2003, he supported Kabila's government and later that of his son
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
against several rebel groups loosely allied with UNITA. The MPLA achieved victory in the civil war by 2002 following Savimbi's death. After winning a second presidential term in the 2012 election, he retired from the presidency in 2017, succeeded by party-mate
João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...
as president. A controversial figure, dos Santos received many international awards for his commitment to anti-colonialism and promotion of peace negotiations with rebels to end wars, and was praised for attracting significant foreign investment to Angola's economy. He was criticised as having been a
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute Power (social and political), power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a polity. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to r ...
and was accused of creating one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa, with a deeply-entrenched
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
network.


Early life and education

José Eduardo Van-Dúnem dos Santos was born on 28 August 1942 in what is today the district of Sambizanga 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 ...
,W. Martin James and Susan Herlin Broadhead, ''Historical Dictionary of Angola'' (2004), Scarecrow Press, page 145. His parents, Avelino Eduardo dos Santos and Jacinta José Paulino, had moved to
Portuguese Angola In southwestern Africa, Portuguese Angola was a historical Evolution of the Portuguese Empire, colony of the Portuguese Empire (1575–1951), the overseas province Portuguese West Africa of Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo Portugal (1951–1 ...
from the then-colony of
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe or Portuguese Central Africa was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the discovery of the islands in 1470 until 1975, when independence was granted by Portugal. History The Portuguese explorers João de S ...
.Biography at MPLA website
His mother was a maid, while his father was a builder and construction worker. His eldest sister, Isabel Eduardo dos Santos raised Manuel Vicente, under Dos Santos later
Vice President of Angola The vice president of Angola is the second highest political position in Angola; it is appointed by and is the deputy to the president. The position was established by the constitution of 2010. Vice presidents of Angola (2010–present) ...
. Dos Santos' cousin Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos was prime minister of Angola from 2002 to 2008. He attended primary school 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 ...
, and received his secondary education at the Liceu Salvador Correia, today called Mutu ya Kevela. While in school, dos Santos joined the
MPLA 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 P ...
, which marked the beginning of his political career. Due to repression by the colonial government, dos Santos went into exile in neighbouring
Congo-Brazzaville The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...
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 to
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, which was
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...
within the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, where, by 1969, he received degrees in
petroleum engineering Petroleum engineering is a field of engineering concerned with the activities related to the production of hydrocarbons, which can be either crude oil or natural gas or both. Exploration and production are deemed to fall within the ''upstrea ...
and radar communications from the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute in
Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...
.


Career

In 1970, dos Santos returned to Angola, which was still a Portuguese territory known as the Overseas Province of Angola. He served for three years in the MPLA's EPLA
guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
force (''Exército Para a Libertação de Angola''), later known as 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), the military wing of the MPLA, becoming a radio transmitter in the second political-military region of the MPLA in
Cabinda Province Cabinda (formerly called Portuguese Congo, ) is an exclave and province of Angola, a status that has been disputed by several political organizations in the territory. The capital city is also called Cabinda, known locally as ''Tchiowa'', ''Tsi ...
. In 1974, he was promoted to sub-commander of the telecoms service of the second region. He was the MPLA representative to
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
,
Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
, and the People's Republic of China before he was elected to the Central Committee and Politburo of the MPLA in Moxico in September 1974.


Early political positions, 1975-1979

In June 1975, dos Santos became coordinator of the MPLA's Department of Foreign Affairs and of the MPLA's Department of Health. Upon Angolan independence in November 1975, the MPLA held power in Luanda, but the new MPLA government faced a
civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
with the other political formations, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...
) and the
National Liberation Front of Angola The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto. F ...
(FNLA). The same year, 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 1975–1976. At the MPLA's First Congress in December 1977, 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. After the natural death of Angola's first president,
Agostinho Neto António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1922 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan Communism, communist politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the MPLA, Popular Movement for the Liberation of ...
, on 10 September 1979, dos Santos was elected president of the MPLA on 20 September 1979, and took office as President of Angola and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on 21 September. In the first Angolan parliamentary election on 9 November 1980, he was elected President of the People's Assembly of Angola as a
one-party state A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...
.


Peace process, 1980-2002

The biggest issue dos Santos had to cope with was the ongoing conflict with the main rival liberation movement, the National Union for the Total Integration of Angola (UNITA). UNITA, led by
Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita 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 was on ...
and supported by South Africa and the United States, never fully recognized the legitimacy of MPLA as the ruling government of Angola and triggered several armed conflicts over the years to express its opposition. The war was also marked by intense foreign intervention, since the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and Cuba backed the MPLA government and the U.S. and South Africa supported UNITA as a way to limit the expansion of Soviet influence in Africa. From 1989 until 1991, the United Nations Angola Verification Mission I and from 1991 until 1995, the
United Nations Angola Verification Mission II The United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (UNAVEM II), established May 1991 and lasting until February 1995, was the second United Nations peacekeeping mission, of a total of four, deployed to Angola during the course of the Angolan Civ ...
took place. On 29 and 30 September 1992, after 16 years of fighting that killed up to 300,000 people,
general elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
were held in Angola, under
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 ...
supervision. Dos Santos led the field in the first round with 49%; his main rival, Jonas Savimbi, won 40%.Parliamentary Chamber: Assembleia nacional- Elections held in 1992
IPU
Under a constitution adopted earlier that year, since dos Santos finished just short of an outright majority, he would need to win a
runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
against Savimbi to become Angola's first constitutional president. This second round never took place, as UNITA declared it did not recognize the election. A three-day war ensued, during which the Halloween Massacre occurred, when MPLA forces killed tens of thousands of UNITA protestors nationwide. Savimbi then decided to give up on the elections, alleging voting fraud, and immediately resumed the civil war. Meanwhile, dos Santos remained in office. In 1993, while Savimbi and UNITA refused to give up territory won through battle, the United States, involved in settling peace talks between the two rival parties and leaders in order to work out a
power sharing Power sharing is a practice in conflict resolution where multiple groups distribute political, military, or economic power among themselves according to agreed rules. It can refer to any formal framework or informal pact that regulates the distri ...
arrangement, decided to withdraw its support from UNITA and officially recognize dos Santos and the MPLA government as the official ruling body in Angola. The death of UNITA's leader, Jonas Savimbi, in February 2002 enabled the resumption of the peace process. On 4 April 2002, the
Angolan Army The Angolan Army () is the land component of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). History On August 1, 1974, a few months after a military coup d'état had overthrown the Lisbon regime and proclaimed its intention of granting independence to Angola, ...
and the rebels agreed to a ceasefire and peace was officially declared on 2 August 2002. While recognized as an official political party by the Angolan government, UNITA agreed to demobilize its armed forces, made up of 50,000 fighters, and agreed for them to be integrated into the national security forces. Following that decision, the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
reopened United Nations offices in Angola and established the United Nations Mission in Angola (UNMA), aimed at consolidating peace in the country.


Governance issues after end of civil war 2001-2016

In 2001, dos Santos announced that he would step down at the next presidential election. In December 2003, he was reelected as head of the MPLA and no further presidential election took place, despite their announcements for 2006, then 2007, and finally 2009. In August 2006, he obtained a MoU with the
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda Front may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film * '' The Front'', 1976 film Music * The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...
. After the
2008 Angolan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Angola on 5 and 6 September 2008, as announced by President José Eduardo dos Santos on 27 December 2007. They were the first since the 1992 Angolan general election, 1992 general elections, which had led to ...
, the ruling MPLA won a landslide victory, and it started working on a new constitution, which was introduced early in 2010. Under the terms of the new constitution, the president is elected by
first-past-the-post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...
double simultaneous vote for the same term as the assembly, and may serve a maximum of two terms. Each participating party nominates a presidential candidate as top of its list, who must be clearly identified on the ballot paper. The top candidate of the party receiving the most votes is elected president. 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. This incident has not been confirmed by any other source. In February–March 2011, and then again in September 2011, demonstrations against dos Santos were organized in Luanda by young Angolans, mostly via the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. In the 2012 legislative election, his party, the MPLA, won more than two-thirds of the vote. As dos Santos had been the top candidate of the party, he automatically became president, in line with the constitution adopted in 2010. In September 2014, dos Santos announced the end of the coupling of the position of provincial governor with provincial first secretary of the 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.


Economy

Once a Marxist-Leninist, dos Santos allowed a partial
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
to emerge as the
collapse of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
was in progress. Dos Santos subsequently abandoned Marxism-Leninism completely and allowed Western firms to invest in Angola's major oil fields. Angola became Africa's second-largest oil producer and third-largest diamond producer during dos Santos' tenure in office. In November 2006, dos Santos co-founded the African Countries Diamond Producers Association, an organisation of approximately 20 African nations founded to promote market cooperation and foreign investment in the African
diamond industry Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
. Despite the country's natural resources, most Angolans remained in poverty: At the time of dos Santos' death in 2022, a few years after he left office, more than half of the more than 30 million Angolans subsisted on less than US$1.90 a day. Dos Santos oversaw a
kleptocracy Kleptocracy (from Greek , "thief", or , "I steal", and from , "power, rule"), also referred to as thievocracy, is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land the ...
with vast amounts of wealth diverted to the dos Santos family; In 2020, dos Santos's successor,
João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...
, estimated that more than $24 billion was stolen or misappropriated under dos Santos, allegedly through diversion of oil revenue,
patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
, and government contracts.


Succession, 2016-2017

Dos Santos announced on 11 March 2016 that he planned to retire in 2018. This timetable would mean that he would leave office after the next election, scheduled for 2017.Daniel Garela-Pensador
"Angola's dos Santos says to quit after 36 years in power"
Agence France-Presse, 11 March 2016.
In December 2016, the MPLA chose
João Lourenço João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço (born 5 March 1954) is an Angolan politician who is currently serving as the third president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was the minister of defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018, ...
, the Minister of Defense and Vice-President of the MPLA, as the party's top candidate and therefore its presidential candidate for the 2017 legislative election, indicating that dos Santos would step aside prior to 2018. Dos Santos stated on 3 February 2017 that he would leave office following the election later in 2017, with Lourenço slated to succeed him. He remained President of the MPLA and was therefore expected to continue playing a key role at the top of Angolan politics through the leadership of the ruling party. His children Isabel dos Santos and
José Filomeno dos Santos Jose Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos (born 9 January 1978) is an Angolan businessman, and the son of Angola's former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017. Following a lengthy legal process Angola's top court d ...
held key economic posts at Sonangol and the Fundo Soberano de Angola, respectively, suggesting their father retained considerable influence.


Controversial issues

Dos Santos led 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, while nearly 70% of the population lived on less than $2 a day. Dos Santos became wealthy when he first took power, and began amassing larger assets during and after the Angolan civil wars. When the ceasefire occurred and large portions of the economy were partially privatized, he took several emerging companies and industries. He helped arrange similar takeovers of several other natural resource industries. According to
Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil s ...
, Angola had a reputation as one of the world's most corrupt countries by the end of Dos Santos' reign. 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. Dos Santos then began using the government to take direct control of stakes in companies offered as kickbacks, which he indirectly controlled and reaped the benefits of and managed to retain large corporate assets through proxies. In what has become known as the '' Luanda Leaks'', a vast network of more than 400 banks, companies, and consultants was revealed to have engaged in money laundering for the dos Santos family. Among others, these include firms such as Banco BIC, founded by dos Santos family billionaire associate
Américo Amorim Américo Ferreira Amorim (21 July 1934 – 13 July 2017) was a Portuguese billionaire businessman, and a 50% owner of Corticeira Amorim, founded by his grandfather. He was the richest person in Portugal at the time of his death with a fortune es ...
,
Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the "Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three" (or MBB, the world's three large ...
,
McKinsey & Company McKinsey & Company (informally McKinsey or McK) is an American multinational strategy and management consulting firm that offers professional services to corporations, governments, and other organizations. Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinse ...
,
PwC PricewaterhouseCoopers, also known as PwC, is a Multinational corporation, multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is one of the Big Fo ...
, Eurobic, and a shell company called Athol Limited. According to Angolan media reports, Brave Ventures, a firm run by Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, was also implicated in
money-laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds into ...
activities in its role as a subcontractor for a French consulting firm tasked by dos Santos to oversee the development of the public health system. Along with this, the government budget had grown over a decade to 69 billion dollars in 2012 through oil revenues. The
International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...
reported that 32 billion in oil revenue went missing from the government's ledger before it was found spent on "quasi-fiscal activities".


Personal life and death

Dos Santos, apart from Portuguese, also fluent in Spanish, French, and Russian, amassed a significant personal fortune.


Marriages and relationships, the dos Santos clan

José Eduardo dos Santos was married at least twice, and possibly as many as four marriages, depending on the source. He had at least six children from his wives, and one born out of wedlock. His first wife was the Russian-born
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...
Tatiana Kukanova, whom he met while studying in the
Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, also referred to as the Azerbaijani Soviet Socialist Republic, Azerbaijan SSR, Azerbaijani SSR, AzSSR, Soviet Azerbaijan or simply Azerbaijan, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent re ...
(present-day
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
).David Smith
"Isabel dos Santos, dubbed 'princess', named Africa's first female billionaire"
''The Guardian'', 25 January 2013.
Dos Santos and Kukanova had one daughter, Isabel dos Santos (b. 1973), who was at one time the richest woman in Africa. Their marriage ended in divorce. His next two marriages (or long-term relationships, depending on the source) also ended in divorce or separation as well. With his second wife, Filomena Sousa, he had one child,
José Filomeno dos Santos Jose Filomeno de Sousa dos Santos (born 9 January 1978) is an Angolan businessman, and the son of Angola's former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country from 1979 to 2017. Following a lengthy legal process Angola's top court d ...
, known as "Zenú" (b. 1978), who served as chairman of Fundo Soberano de Angola. His third wife was Maria Luísa Abrantes Perdigão. Abrantes' and dos Santos' two children were daughter, Welwitschia "Tchize" dos Santos (b. 1978), and a son, the Angolan artist Coréon Dú (b. 1984). Maria Luísa Abrantes served as
Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
from June 1990 to April 1992. In 1991, dos Santos married his fourth and final wife, Ana Paula de Lemos, a former
flight attendant A flight attendant is a member of the aircrew whose primary responsibility is ensure the safety of passengers in the cabin of an aircraft across all stages of flight. Their secondary duty is to see to the comfort of passengers. Flight attenda ...
and model. They had three children: Eduane Danilo (b. 1991), Joseana (b. 1995), and Eduardo (b. 1998). The couple remained married until his death in 2022. As of 2017, Eduane Danilo was a partner in an Angolan financial institution named Banco Postal, holding stock in a private holding company called ‘Deana Day Spa’ and was entrusted with the privatization of
Angola Telecom Angola Telecom is a telecommunications and Internet service provider of Angola. Angola Telecom is an ''empresa publica'', i.e. wholly owned by the Angolan state. Subsidiaries of Angola Telecom include: *Infrasat, offering satellite telecommunic ...
.


Later life

In mid-2017, dos Santos twice travelled to
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, on weeks-long visits that were rumoured to be related to a medical problem. The government acknowledged that the first visit was related to his health. No official explanation was given for his second visit, from 3 to 19 July. Dos Santos had cancer for several years prior to his death . He was in critical condition after suffering cardiorespiratory arrest on 23 June 2022 and also tested positive for
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
. He died on 8 July 2022, at Teknon Medical Centre in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, at the age of 79. He was held a
state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
in the Angolan capital, Luanda, with several African leaders and Portugal's president present on 28 August 2022.


Awards and recognitions

* : ** Dr António Agostinho Neto Order * : ** Order of José Martí * : ** Grand Collar of the
Military Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (), formerly known as the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit (), is one of the four former ancient Portu ...
** Grand Collar of the
Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...
* : **
Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...
** Order of Honour * : ** Order of the Republic of Serbia, 2nd class * : ** Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo Dos Santos was praised for the major role he played in favour of the country's independence and his commitment to the promotion of peace and democracy in the country, through negotiations with opposition movements designed to put a definite end to the civil war. He received the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in 2010. He also received an honorary diploma of the National Commission on Racial Justice of the Unified Church of Christ (USA). Dos Santos was named "Man of the Year 2014" by ''Africa World''. According to the newspaper, the choice of the Angolan leader was due to his contribution to the great process of economic and democratic recovery of Angola since the end of the war. A
University of Namibia The University of Namibia (UNAM) is a multi-campus public research university in Namibia, and the largest university in the country. It was established by an act of Parliament on 31 August 1992. Background UNAM comprises the following fac ...
Engineering and Information Technology campus in
Ongwediva Ongwediva is a town in the Oshana Region in the north of Namibia. It is the district capital of the Ongwediva Constituency, Ongwediva electoral constituency. it had 33,777 inhabitants and covered 4,102 hectares of land. Ongwediva has seven ...
is named after dos Santos, who was himself an
engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
by profession, for assisting Namibia with attaining its freedom from oppression. Portugal awarded dos Santos the Grand Collar of the
Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...
in 1988 and the Grand Collar of the
Military Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (), formerly known as the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit (), is one of the four former ancient Portu ...
in 1996.


See also

* List of current Angolan ministers * List of heads of state of Angola * Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento embezzeled billions from the Angolan government * Hélder Vieira Dias


References


Further reading

* Fredriksen, John C. ed. ''Biographical Dictionary of Modern World Leaders'' (2003) pp 139–141. * James, W. Martin. ''Historical dictionary of Angola '' (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). * Messiant, Christine. "The Eduardo dos Santos Foundation: or, how Angola's regime is taking over civil society." ''African Affairs'' 100.399 (2001): 287–309. * Vines, Alex, and Markus Weimer. "Angola: Thirty years of dos Santos." ''Review of African Political Economy'' 36,120 (2009): 287–294. * Wright, George. "The Clinton administration's policy toward Angola: an assessment." ''Review of African Political Economy'' 28.90 (2001): 563–576.


External links


Official webpage of MPLA


(Separatist website) *
Journal of Contemporary History, April 2020 (Students from Portuguese Africa in the Soviet Union)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Jose Eduardo dos 1942 births 2022 deaths Presidents of Angola Presidents of the National Assembly (Angola) 20th century in Angola 20th-century Angolan politicians 21st-century Angolan politicians People of the Angolan Civil War Politicide perpetrators MPLA politicians Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo Grand Collars of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Politicians from Luanda Angolan people of São Tomé and Príncipe descent Angolan expatriates in Azerbaijan Angolan expatriates in France Angolan expatriates in the Republic of the Congo Angolan expatriates in the Soviet Union Azerbaijan State Oil and Industry University alumni Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain Jose Eduardo Former Marxists People from Portuguese Angola