biography
| name: |
Dos Santos, Jose Eduardo
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1942– )
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| biography:
| Angolan politician and president (1979– ), born in Luanda. He joined the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in 1961 and was forced into exile in what later became Zaire, during the civil war between the MPLA and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). He returned to Angola in 1970, and held key positions under President Agostinho Neto, succeeding him in 1979. By 1989 he had negotiated the withdrawal of South African and Cuban forces, and a ceasefire between MPLA and UNITA. A formal peace agreement was signed in 1991 and general elections held in September 1992 at which Dos Santos received just less than the full 50% needed to avoid a second round of voting. UNITA claimed the election was rigged (denied by UN observers), and the civil war recommenced before the second round could be held. The elections due in 1997 were postponed indefinitely. |
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