Veríssimo Correia Seabra (February 16, 1947 – October 6, 2004) was a

Bissau-Guinean Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ) ...

general, known for leading a coup that deposed Kumba Ialá on September 14, 2003.

Early life

Correia Seabra was born in the capital city,

Bissau Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and m ...

, on February 16, 1947. He belonged to the Papel minority. In 1963, at the age of 16, Correia Seabra joined the

African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde ( pt, Partido Africano para a Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde, PAIGC) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from ...

(PAIGC) as a guerilla fighting against Portuguese colonial rule. Three years later, he was sent to study

electronic engineering Electronics engineering is a sub-discipline of electrical engineering which emerged in the early 20th century and is distinguished by the additional use of active components such as semiconductor devices to amplify and control electric current ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. In 1971, he attended an artillery school in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. On his return to the bush war in Guinea-Bissau, he was out in charge of an artillery unit near the southern border with

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

. In 1976, he was sent to Portugal for officer training.

Career

In the years following independence, Correia Seabra played a key role in the internal politics of the PAIGC. He participated in the 1980 military coup that overthrew President

Luís Cabral Luís Severino de Almeida Cabral (11 April 1931 – 30 May 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military ''coup d'état'' led by João Bernardo Vieira deposed hi ...

. Promoted steadily through the ranks, he became deputy head of the Guinea-Bissau military contingent of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

mission in

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

from 1991 to 1992. He was then appointed head of operations in military high command two years later.

Conflict

Correia Seabra joined General

Ansumane Mané Ansumane Mané (c. 1940 – 30 November 2000) was a Bissau-Guinean soldier who led a 1998 uprising against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira, which caused a brief, but bloody civil war. Mané participated in the independence w ...

in the 1998 uprising against President João Bernardo Vieira. The nation descended into a brief, but bloody

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

. He was again involved in a May 1999 military coup that forced President Vieira from power. Soon thereafter, he became

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and was appointed Minister of Defense in the government named on February 19, 2000, under President Kumba Ialá. In November 2000, Mané attempted to replace Correia Seabra as chief of staff and placed him under house arrest, but Correia Seabra escaped and fighting erupted; Mané was killed in a clash with government forces a week later. Correia Seabra remained in his position.

Soldier payment controversy

As Ialá’s behavior became more erratic and the government failed to pay several months of wages owed to soldiers, he warned the President that the military would be forced to intervene again unless salaries were paid. Correia Seabra led the bloodless coup that ousted Kumba Ialá from power on September 14, 2003. It was welcomed by most Guineans while provoking condemnation from the international community. His first act as head of the 32-member Military Committee for the Restoration of Constitutional and Democratic Order was to convene a meeting of political, religious, and civil society leaders to choose a new civilian-led government that would be charged with organizing elections. Henrique Rosa was nominated to head the

caretaker government A caretaker government is a temporary ''ad hoc'' government that performs some governmental duties and functions in a country until a regular government is elected or formed. Depending on specific practice, it usually consists of either randomly se ...

and became president on September 28, 2003. Seabra continued to serve as chairman of the

National Transition Council National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. Free and fair

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

were held on March 28, 2004.

Death

On October 6, 2004, a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

by soldiers over unpaid salaries turned violent. Veríssimo Correia Seabra along with an aide, Lieutenant Colonel Domingos Barros, were detained and beaten to death by revolting soldiers. The Portuguese president, Jorge Sampaio, also called for the restoration of legality in Guinea-Bissau, after learning of the death of Veríssimo Seabra.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seabra, Verissimo 1947 births 2004 deaths People from Bissau Bissau-Guinean military personnel Presidents of Guinea-Bissau People murdered in Guinea-Bissau Bissau-Guinean murder victims 2004 murders in Africa Assassinated Bissau-Guinean politicians African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde politicians