Agostinho Neto
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António Agostinho Neto (September 17, 1922 – September 10, 1979) was the first President of Angola (1975–1979), a poet and nationalist leader, founder of the Marxist Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). His birthday is celebrated as National Heroes Day, a public holiday in Angola.
[edit] Biography
Born in the village of Kaxikane in Icolo e Bengo in Angola in 1922, he was a prominent figure from the 1940s when he became an important member of a movement in Angola that sought to rediscover traditional Angolan culture. Despite his participation in nationalist movements, he studied medicine in Lisbon.
After attaining a medical degree, he returned to Angola, but was immediately considered a troublesome figure by the Portuguese colonial authorities, due to his opposition to colonial rule. For his actions, he was arrested, and in turn many of his patients protested, leading to a crackdown by colonial troops. Despite his imprisonment, he would escape to Morocco, and would become an important leader of Angolan resistance from exile.
Neto was arrested several times by the political police of the Estado Novo regime, the PIDE. He was also aided in several occasions by the Portuguese Communist Party.
He was one of the first members of the MPLA, one of three factions that vied for power after the Portuguese withdrawal from Angola (following the Carnation Revolution), and later led the country after independence on November 11, 1975. His government developed close links with the Soviet Union and other nations in the Eastern bloc and other Communist states. He was succeeded in his capacity as president of the state and MPLA leader by José Eduardo dos Santos.
Neto died in a hospital in Moscow, in the Soviet Union, while undergoing surgery for cancer, and while the Angolan Civil War between the MPLA government and Jonas Savimbi's National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) was ongoing.
Agostinho Neto was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize (1975-76).
| Presidents of Angola |  |
|---|---|
| Agostinho Neto • José Eduardo dos Santos |
