THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: total area 1,246,700 sq. km
Population: 12,000,000 (2001 est)
Capital City: Luanda 3,500,000 (2000
est)
People: The majority are of Bantu
origin - the main groups are
Ovimbundu, Mbundu, Bakongo,
Tchokwe and Nyaneka. There is also a
small mestico community.
Languages: Portuguese (official) and
local African languages.
Religion(s): Large range: Christianity,
with Roman Catholicism as the
country's largest single denomination,
Protestants, Methodists, Baptists,
United Church of Christ and
Congregationalists. A number of
indigenous African and Brazilian
Christian denominations. Tiny Muslim
community.
Currency: 1 Kwanza (Kz) = 100 lwei
Major Political Parties: Popular
Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA) with 129 seats in Parliament;
National Union for the Total
Independence of Angola (UNITA) is by
far the largest other party, with 70
seats in Parliament. Seven minor
parties share the balance of 21 seats in
the National Assembly.
Government: Multi-Party Transitional
Government of National Unity (GURN).
Head of State: President Jose Eduardo
DOS SANTOS
Prime Minister/Premier: Fernando da
Piedade Dias dos Santos, 'Nando'.
Governor: Each of the 18 Provinces is
run by a governor appointed by the
President.
Foreign Minister: Dr Joao Bernardo
Miranda
Membership of International
Groupings/Organisations: Southern
African Development Community
(SADC) (Angola held the chair from
October 2002 to September 2003), the
African Union, Central African States
Economic Community (CEAC), CPLP
(Community of Portugese Language
speaking countries), PALOP
(Lusophone African countries) and
signatory of the Cotonou
Africa-Caribbean-Pacific-European
Union (ACP-EU) agreement.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Angola is located in Southern Africa. It
is bordered on the west by the Atlantic
Ocean and shares borders with the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),
Zambia and Namibia. The enclave of
Cabinda in the north, bordered by DRC
and Congo, is also part of Angola. The
climate is tropical and humid in the
north and subtropical with lower
rainfall in the south. Temperatures are
generally lower in the central plateau
than in the more low-lying coastal
regions.
HISTORY
Angola was a Portuguese colony. The
main groups who fought for
independence were the MPLA (Popular
Movement for the Liberation of
Angola), UNITA (National Union for the
Total Independence of Angola), and the
FNLA (National Front for the
Liberation of Angola). The MPLA
received substantial backing from the
Soviet Union and Cuba, UNITA from
South Africa and the United States and
the FNLA from Zaire and the United
States. The conflict had become Civil
War by the time Angola gained
independence on 11 November 1975. The
MPLA were able to gain military
advantage and formed a government,
leaving UNITA and the FNLA out in the
cold. UNITA regrouped and started a
guerrilla war against the MPLA which
lasted until early 2002. Until the late
1980s, the MPLA had the assistance of
60,000 Cuban troops to help it to
contain the UNITA insurgency. Until
1989, Angola suffered from frequent
attacks by South African forces, air
and ground, from bases in Namibia,
acting both in support of UNITA and in
hot pursuit of South West African
Peoples Organisation (SWAPO)
guerrillas. In a complicated deal
engineered by the USA in 1989, South
African forces left Namibia and Cuban
forces left Angola, thereby paving the
way for Namibia's independence and
for an internal settlement in Angola.
Peace talks between the MPLA and
UNITA took place between April 1990
and May 1991, leading to a cease-fire
and the signing of a Peace Agreement
known as the Bicesse Accords in May
1991. The cease-fire was monitored by
a UN mission, known as United Nations
Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM).
Presidential and legislative elections
were held in September 1992 and
resulted in victory to the MPLA (dos
Santos with 47% and 42% for Savimbi
(UNITA)). The run-off for the
Presidency between the two top
candidates never took place as UNITA
rejected the result and returned to
war. In September 1993 the UN
Security Council imposed sanctions on
UNITA (an embargo on arms and
related material and all petroleum
products). Two subsequent packages
of further sanctions were imposed on
UNITA in 1997 and 1998 (imposing a
travel ban, an assets freeze, and a ban
on illegal diamond sales amongst
others). UNITA's subsequent
acceptance of the results of the 1992
elections led to renewed talks between
the Government and UNITA in Lusaka in
October 1993. This resulted in the
signature of a second peace agreement
known as the Lusaka Protocol on 20
November 1994. A formal cease-fire
came into effect two days later.
UN Security Council Resolution 976 of
8 February 1995 authorised the
deployment of a 7,000 strong
peacekeeping force particularly to
oversee the demobilisation of troops on
both sides. The UK provided a 600
strong logistics battalion for a
three-month period. The UN declared
that all military tasks were officially
completed on 13 December 1996. This
cleared the way for UNITA deputies to
the National Assembly (elected in 1992)
to take their seats in Luanda. A
government of National Unity and
Reconciliation (GURN), including four
UNITA ministers and seven
vice-ministers, was inaugurated on 11
April 1997.
On 1 July 1997, UN Security Council
Resolution 1118 reconfigured UNAVEM
to the UN Observer Mission in Angola
(MONUA). As well as deploying military
and police observers, MONUA also
focussed on human rights issues.
Although both sides were publicly
committed to the peace process,
progress in implementing the
provisions of the Lusaka Protocol was
slow.
On 1 September 1998 the Government
of Angola suspended all UNITA
Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the
GURN and it created a movement called
UNITA Renovada, from among those in
UNITA who no longer supported the
military strategy of UNITA's leader, Dr
Savimbi.
The security situation throughout
Angola continued to deteriorate. UNITA
retook many areas originally handed
over to state administration and heavy
clashes took place. Against this
background, the UN Secretary General
recommended the withdrawal of the
military elements of MONUA. The
Security Council accepted this
recommendation. On 26 February 1999
it adopted Resolution 1229, which
terminated MONUA's mandate but
allowed the human rights element to
continue functioning.
The Chairman of the UN Angola
Sanctions Committee visited Angola and
the region in May 1999 and produced a
list of recommendations on ways to
tighten up the implementation of
sanctions against UNITA. These were
looked at by two expert panels. The
Security Council adopted resolution
1295 which focussed on the Panels key
recommendations. It also proposed a
monitoring mechanism to follow on
from the work of the Expert Panels. A
UN Office (UNOA) was re-established
in Angola in October 2000.
BBC News Timeline
POLITICS
Recent Political Developments
At the end of 1998, the MPLA, at its
Party Congress, changed its strategy
and decided to achieve 'peace through
war'. A fullscale return to war was
agreed. Although it took three years,
Government troops managed to regain
notional control of almost 95% of the
areas previously under control of
UNITA, including their main strongholds
in the Central Highlands. In the course
of the military offensive, the
Government all but destroyed UNITA's
conventional military capability, forcing
UNITA to revert to guerrilla tactics.
On 22 February 2002 Angolan
Government Forces killed Jonas
Savimbi. This presented a unique
opportunity for the MPLA and UNITA
to pursue peace talks once again. On 13
March 2002 the Government said that
it had instructed the General Staff of
the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) to
end offensive movements 'in order to
permit the establishment of 'in situ'
contacts between military commands
of the FAA and UNITA military forces.'
This was followed by a Memorandum
of Understanding (MOU), establishing a
formal cease-fire and a joint military
commission, signed in Luanda on 4
April. The UN Secretary General's
Special Adviser on Africa, visited
Angola during April to assess the
situation on the ground with a view to
future UN involvement, not least in
regard to the 50,000 (initial estimate,
then revised to 100,000) UNITA
ex-combatants, and their family
members, totalling around 300,000,
who were quartered under the terms
of the 4 April MOU. On 31 July a
formal ceremony for the induction of
some 5000 former UNITA combatants
into the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA)
took place in Luanda. A ceremony on 2
August formally marked the end of
UNITA as a military entity, after the
successful completion of disarmament
and demobilisation of UNITA troops. A
mandate was agreed in the UN
Security Council on 16 August for the
establishment of a new United Nations
Mission in Angola (UNMA), headed by
Dr Gambari as special Representative
of the Secretary General. In this
capacity he chaired the reconstituted
Joint Commission charged with
completing the remaining tasks under
the Lusaka Protocol. On 21 November,
a ceremony in the Angolan National
Assembly declared the Lusaka Process,
and with it the role of the Joint
Commission, to have ended. On 9
December, the UN Security Council
unanimously voted to lift all remaining
sanctions against UNITA, as UNITA had
met all the conditions.
Elections
No date has been set for Presidential
and Parliamentary elections. In the light
of the immense amount of work
needed (for example in creating an
electoral roll) they are unlikely to be
held before 2005. In August 2001,
President dos Santos announced that
he would not be standing for President
at the next election.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$ 10.2 billion
GDP per head: US$700 (2002)
Annual Growth: 9% (2002)
Inflation: Over 100% in 2002
Major Industries: Oil and gas, diamonds
Major trading partners: Imports into
Angola - Portugal, US, South Africa,
Brazil and France. Destination of
exports - US, Belgium, China, France
and Spain.
Exchange rate: US$ 1 = 79.60 Kzs
(September 2003)
Angola is well endowed with natural
resources (including petroleum, iron,
manganese, diamonds and fertile soil).
But its economy is one of the most
distorted and inefficient in Africa,
having suffered from chronic
economic mismanagement since
independence. Combined with the
long-running civil war this has resulted
in the virtual collapse of the non-oil
economy. Oil now accounts for over
60% of GDP and 85% of government
revenue. Angola, which is not a
member of OPEC, is Africa's second
largest exporter of oil (after Nigeria)
and oil production is set to double over
the next five years. At the end of
2002, Angola's total external debt was
US$9.9bn.
Further information about Angola's
economy can be found on the Trade
Partners UK website.
Export controls implemented by the UK
towards Angola.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Angola's relations with neighbours
The Government of Angola withdrew
the small number of troops it had in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It has been working quietly to try and
bring various factions involved in
Democratic Republic of the Congo to an
agreement. In August 2002 Angola
brokered an agreement between
Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Uganda on the withdrawal of Ugandan
troops.
Angola has good relations with a wide
range of commercially interested
countries such as the US, Portugal,
Spain, Norway, France and Brazil.
ANGOLA'S RELATIONS WITH THE UK
Diplomatic Representation
UK representation in Angola
Angolan representation in the UK
Angola has good relations with the UK,
much enhanced by the visit to London
of Foreign Minister Miranda in March
2002, and the visit to Luanda of
former Development Secretary Clare
Short in April 2002. Most recently
Baroness Amos, as Foreign Office
Minister for Africa, visited Luanda
from 4-6 December 2002 and in
February and March 2003. The Deputy
Prime Minister attended a seminar in
London in June to inform UK industry
about the economic potential of Angola.
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