Agostinho Neto

President of Angola (1922-1979)

António Agostinho Neto (17 September 1910 – 10 September 1979) was an Angolan politician and poet.[2][3] He was the first President of Angola, serving from 1975–1979 after he leading the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the war for independence that lasted from 1961–1974.[4]

António Agostinho Neto
Official Portrait, 1975
1st President of Angola
In office
11 November 1975 – 10 September 1979
Prime MinisterLopo do Nascimento (1975-1978)
Preceded byPosition estabilished
Succeeded byJosé Eduardo dos Santos
Chairman of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
In office
10 December 1956 – 10 September 1979
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byJosé Eduardo dos Santos
Personal details
Born(1910-09-17)17 September 1910
Ícolo e Bengo, Bengo, Overseas Province of Angola, Portugal
Died10 September 1979(1979-09-10) (aged 68)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Political partyMPLA
Spouse(s)Maria Eugénia da Silva[1]

He died of inoperable cancer on 10 September 1979 in a hospital in Moscow, Russia, aged 68.[5]

Career as a writer

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His works of poetry were written mostly between 1946 and 1960.. He published three books of poetry during his lifetime..[6] Poems included collections like Sacred Hope, which was published in 1974. He was the first member voted into the Anglo Writers Union and The Center for African Studies in Lisbon. He was given the Lotus Prize by the Conference of Afro-Asian Writers.[7]

Sources

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  1. James, W. Martin (2004). Historical Dictionary of Angola. pp. 110.
  2. "Angola: Is this the country Agostinho Neto dreamt of? - Pambazuka News". Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  3. Encyclopedia of World Biography: Michael-Orleans. Gale Research. 1998. ISBN 978-0-7876-2551-1.
  4. Anatoliĭ Mikhaĭlovich Khazanov (1986). Agostinho Neto. Progress Publishers.
  5. Africa Research Bulletin: Political, social, and cultural series. Blackwell. 1979.
  6. Abdala, Benjamin, Jr. "Agostinho Neto." In African Lusophone Writers. Detroit: Gale, 2012, pp. 120–125. (Dictionary of Literary Biography, vol. 367).
  7. "Agostinho Neto". Poetry Foundation. 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2019-05-19.

Other websites

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  Media related to Agostinho Neto at Wikimedia Commons

Political offices
Preceded by
Position created
President of Angola
1975–1979
Succeeded by
José Eduardo dos Santos