The Diplomat
The former president of Angola José Eduardo dos Santos died yesterday, aged 79, in a clinic in Barcelona, where he was admitted at the end of June, the government of the African country confirmed in a statement on its official account on the social network Facebook.
The death of Dos Santos, who governed Angola from 1975 to 2017, took place at 11:10 yesterday morning, after a prolonged illness, the Angolan government added, while expressing its “feelings of great pain and dismay”.
The Luanda government, currently led by João Lourenço, “bows with the greatest respect and consideration for the figure of a statesman of great historical dimension, who governed the destiny of the Angolan nation for many years with foresight and humanism”.
Finally, the Angolan government “presents its deepest condolences to the bereaved family and its deepest feelings of sorrow, while calling for serenity at this time of grief and consternation”.
José Eduardo dos Santos was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Barcelona clinic on 23 June, and last week official sources reported that he was in an induced coma, connected to life support.
The former president’s daughter, Tchizé dos Santos, denounced on Monday an alleged murder attempt against him in Barcelona, and had asked for protection for the ex-president. Sources from the law firms Carmen Varela Abogados de Familia and Molins Defensa Penal, which advise dos Santos’ daughter, specified that the complaint presented to the Mossos d’Esquadra points to “people in his entourage”.
José Eduardo dos Santos stepped away from power in 2017, after having resigned to run for a new presidential mandate in Angola. In 2019 he began to reside in Barcelona and although in September 2021 he returned to Angola, months later he returned to Barcelona.
Joâo Lourenço succeeded him in office after winning the elections for his party, the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), which has governed the nation since its independence from Portugal in 1975.
