José Eduardo dos Santos, the former president of Angola who ruled Africa’s second-biggest oil producer for nearly four decades, died on Friday.
His almost four decades as president of Angola were marked by the continent’s longest civil war. Many Angolans praised him as the architect of the peace negotiations that ended the country’s 27-year civil war in 2002.
During his time as president, Angola turned into a major oil producing country. But in the same period, the country also became one of the world’s poorest and most corrupt nations.
His successor and current President Joao Lourenco declared five days of national mourning and described dos Santos as a “unique figure of the Angolan homeland.” The announcement said dos Santos was “a statesman of great historical scale who governed … the Angolan nation through very difficult times.”
After a longtime illness, Dos Santos died at a clinic in Barcelona, Spain, where he had most of his life after stepping down in 2017.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres recalled that Dos Santos’ participation in the struggle that led to Angola’s independence and his leadership “through the signing of the peace agreement that put an end to the civil war in 2002.” He recalled that “during his tenure, Angola became an important regional and international partner and advocate for multilateralism.”
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said dos Santos had helped in the fight against white minority rule under apartheid.
A Human Rights Watch (HRW) report described him as a “controversial figure” and “a ruthless leader” to victims of human rights abuses during his 38-year rule. The report said that Dos Santos “did not hesitate to use law enforcement agencies and the judicial system to intimidate his critics, independent journalists, and human rights defenders.”
