BEST OF MOZAMBIQUE - Volume 1

Page 36

Mozambique Icons

President Armando Emilio Guebuza Before becoming the current President of Mozambique, Armando Guebuza was involved in Mozambique’s independence movement and served in several ministerial positions. He won the 2004 presidential elections and became president in 2005, he was also re-elected in 2009.

Armando Emilio Guebuza was born on 20 January 1943, in Murrupula, Nampula Province. His father was a nurse and his mother was a domestic worker. In 1948, his father transferred to Lourenço Marques (Maputo) where Guebuza started school. He also attended the Mission Church of Switzerland, which in addition to religious activities, participation developed unity in the spirit of sacrifice, mutual aid and promotion of a common vision. Early on, he joined the struggle for independence, receiving discreet political mobilisation in his secondary education at the Centre for Secondary School Students Africans of Mozambique (NESAM) - a civic organisation founded by Eduardo Mondlane in 1949. He joined the Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) in 1963. Two years later he was elected member of the

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Best of Mozambique

Antes de se tornar o actual Presidente da República de Moçambique, Armando Guebuza esteve envolvido no movimento da independência de Moçambique e ocupou diversos cargos ministeriais. Venceu as eleições presidenciais de 2004 e tornou-se presidente em 2005, foi reeleito em 2009.

Executive Committee. During the armed struggle for national liberation, Guebuza was appointed Political Commissar – a position he held until 1983. In 1974, after the signing of the Lusaka Accords, he was appointed Minister of the Interior during the Transitional Government. After the proclamation of independence in 1975, Guebuza was then appointed Minister of the Interior of the Independent Government. In 1978, Guebuza was appointed Deputy Minister of National Defence. There followed numerous positions in government and in ministerial capacities, including: provincial Governor; Minister of Agriculture, Commercial, Light Industrial and Tourism; and Transport and Communications. In May 1983, he returned to the Home Office with the rank of Lieutenant General.

He was appointed head of a government delegation for talks in Rome in 1990, resulting in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 1992 for an end to the Civil War. In the first multi-party Parliament of Mozambique, Guebuza was elected by the Electoral Circle of Maputo Province and later elected Chief Whip of Parliament. In 2002, he was elected Secretary General of FRELIMO and in 2004 he was elected its President. He became President of Mozambique on 2 February 2005. Guebuza is also a successful and wealthy businessman. He was the first Mozambican President to enter with a non-Marxist party programme and ideology. Guebuza is married to Maria da Luz Guebuza and is the father of four children, with two grandchildren.


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