The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party, is a left-wing political party from Angola. The MPLA fought against the Portuguese army in the Angolan War of Independence from 1961 to 1974, and defeated the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) in the Angolan Civil War. The party has ruled Angola since the country's independence from Portugal in 1975, being the de facto government throughout the civil war and the ruling since its end.
The national flag of Angola came into use when Angola gained independence on November 11, 1975. It is split horizontally into an upper red half and a lower black half with an emblem resting at the center. It features a yellow half gear wheel crossed by a machete and crowned with a star.
António Agostinho Neto was an Angolan politician and poet. He served as the first president of Angola from 1975 to 1979, having led the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the war for independence (1961–1974). Until his death, he led the MPLA in the civil war (1975–2002). Known also for his literary activities, he is considered Angola's preeminent poet. His birthday is celebrated as National Heroes' Day, a public holiday in Angola.
The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda is a guerrilla and political movement fighting for the independence of the Angolan province of Cabinda. Formerly under Portuguese administration, with the independence of Angola from Portugal in 1975, the territory became an exclave province of the newly independent Angola. The FLEC fights the Cabinda War in the region occupied by the former kingdoms of Kakongo, Loango and N'Goyo.
Mário Coelho Pinto de Andrade was an Angolan poet and politician.
The Angolan War of Independence, called in Angola the Luta Armada de Libertação Nacional, began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal's overseas province of Angola among three nationalist movements and a separatist movement. The war ended when a leftist military coup in Lisbon in April 1974 overthrew Portugal's Estado Novo dictatorship, and the new regime immediately stopped all military action in the African colonies, declaring its intention to grant them independence without delay.
Américo Alberto de Barros e Assis Boavida, generally known as Dr. Américo Boavida, was an Angolan physician active in his country's nationalist movement.
The Republic of Cabinda was an unrecognized state located in what is presently Angola's Cabinda Province. The Front for the Liberation of the State of Cabinda-Exercito de Cabinda (FLEC) claims sovereignty from Angola and proclaimed the Republic of Cabinda as an independent country in 1975. The government of this entity operates in exile, with offices located in Paris, France, and Pointe Noire, Congo-Brazzaville.
Lúcio Rodrigo Leite Barreto de Lara, also known by the pseudonym Tchiweka, was a physicist-mathematician, politician, professor, anti-colonial ideologist and one of the founding members of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Served as General Secretary of the MPLA during the Angolan War of Independence and Angolan Civil War. Lara, a founding member of the MPLA, led the first MPLA members into Luanda on November 8, 1974. He swore in Agostinho Neto as the first president of the country.
The Alvor Agreement, signed on 15 January 1975 in Alvor, Portugal, granted Angola independence from Portugal on 11 November and formally ended the 13-year-long Angolan War of Independence.
Daniel Chipenda fought in the Angolan War of Independence, serving as the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola's (MPLA) field commander in the Eastern Front before founding and leading the Eastern Revolt, a faction of the MPLA. He later joined the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), but left, rejoined the MPLA, and left again in July 1992. He was an Ovimbundu.
The Military history of Angola is marked by a series of conflicts rooted in tribal conflicts, colonialism and the Cold War. During the Cold War, Angola was involved in struggles between Western powers and South Africa with the help of the Soviet Union and Cuba.
During Angola's civil war, Cuban forces fought alongside the Marxist–Leninist People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government; against the Western-backed National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) and National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) guerrillas who were aided by the South-African army. The present day outcome of the war resulted in the MPLA changing from a Marxist–Leninist party to a multi-party democratic system based on neoliberal principles. From an economic standpoint, Cuba has lost its preferred status among Angolans and South Africa has become the biggest single investor and trading partner with Angola.
Angola and Portugal are members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the United Nations.
José Mendes de Carvalho, known by his nom de guerreHoji-ya-Henda, was a guerrilla fighter of the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA). Now remembered as a folk hero in Angola, he was killed during the Portuguese Colonial War.
The Conference of Nationalist Organizations of the Portuguese Colonies was an organization for coordination and cooperation between the national liberation movements of the Portuguese colonies in Africa during the Portuguese Colonial War.
João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, GColIH is an Angolan politician who has served as the president of Angola since 26 September 2017. Previously, he was Minister of Defence from 2014 to 2017. In September 2018 he became the Chairman of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party. He was the party's Secretary-General from 1998 to 2003.
Angola–Yugoslavia relations were historical foreign relations between Angola and now split-up Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the Cold War both countries actively participated in the work of the Non-Aligned Movement. Yugoslavia officially recognized the independence of Angola just one day after it was declared in 1975. The formal diplomatic relations were established that same year.
Luzia Pereira de Sousa English Van-Dúnem is an Angolan politician, feminist and expert in military telecommunications. She is a member of the Angolan National Assembly, as a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA).
