Angola

**Angola**, officially the **Republic of Angola**, is a country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and the Republic of the Congo.

## History

### Independence

The Portuguese regime, meanwhile, refused to accede to the demands for independence, provoking an armed conflict that started in 1961 when freedom fighters attacked both white and black civilians in cross-border operations in northeastern Angola. The war came to be known as the Colonial War. In this struggle, the principal protagonists included, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), founded in 1956, the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), which appeared in 1961 and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), founded in 1966. After many years of conflict that led to the weakening of all the insurgent parties, Angola gained its independence on 11 November 1975, after the 1974 coup d'état in Portugal, which overthrew the Portuguese regime headed by Marcelo Caetano.

Following negotiations held in Portugal, itself experiencing severe social and political turmoil and uncertainty due to the April 1974 revolution, Angola's three main guerrilla groups agreed to establish a transitional government in January 1975. Within two months, however, the FNLA, MPLA and UNITA had started fighting each other and the country began splitting into zones controlled by rival armed political groups. The MPLA gained control of the capital Luanda and much of the rest of the country. With the support of the United States, Zaïre and South Africa intervened militarily in favour of the FNLA and UNITA with the intention of taking Luanda before the declaration of independence. In response, Cuba intervened in favor of the MPLA, which became a flash point for the Cold War.

With Cuban support, the MPLA held Luanda and declared independence on 11 November 1975, with Agostinho Neto becoming the first president, though the civil war continued. At this time, most of the half-million Portuguese who lived in Angola – and who had accounted for the majority of the skilled work in the public administration, agriculture, industries and trade – fled the country, leaving its once prosperous and growing economy in a state of bankruptcy.

### Twenty-First Century

On 22 March 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of UNITA, was killed in combat with government troops. A cease-fire was reached by the two factions shortly afterwards. UNITA gave up its armed wing and assumed the role of major opposition party, although in the knowledge that in the present regime a legitimate democratic election was impossible. Although the political situation of the country began to stabilize, regular democratic processes were not established before the Elections in Angola in 2008 and 2012 and the adoption of a new Constitution of Angola in 2010, all of which strengthened the prevailing Dominant-party system.

## Government and Politics

Following the Angola Crisis, and the subsequent coup d'état, Angola has been ruled under a quasi-military dictatorship. The President, Geraldo Nunda, is both President of Angola and Chief of Staff of the Angolan Armed Forces, though he has appointed an Acting-Chief of Staff to managed the military on his behalf. The National Assembly is a 220-seat unicameral legislature elected from both provincial and nationwide constituencies.

### Administrative Regions

Angola is divided into eighteen provinces and 163 municipalities. The municipalities are further divided into 475 communes. One of the eighteen provinces is the exclave of Cabinda which contains most of Angola's natural oil fields.

### Foreign Relations

Angola is a member state of the United Nations, OPEC, African Union, the African Treaty Cooperation, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Latin Union and the Southern African Development Community. Angola was named a Major Non-NATO Ally by US President Elizabeth Warren in 2020 after the victory of the pro-Western military over the pro-Eurasian government in the Angola Crisis. Angola maintains close relations with many Portuguese speaking countries, mostly Brazil and Portugal. Angola also maintains strong trade ties to China despite the result of the Angola Crisis.

## Economy

Angola has a rich subsoil heritage, from diamonds, oil, gold, copper, and a rich wildlife, forest, and fossils. Since independence, oil and diamonds have been the most important economic resource. Smallholder and plantation agriculture have dramatically dropped because of the Angolan Civil War, but have begun to recover after 2002. The transformation industry that had come into existence in the late colonial period collapsed at independence, because of the exodus of most of the ethnic Portuguese population, but has begun to re-emerge, partly because of the influx of new Portuguese entrepreneurs.

Overall, Angola's economy has undergone a period of transformation in recent years, moving from the disarray caused by a quarter century of civil war to being the fastest growing economy in Africa and one of the fastest in the world, with an average GDP growth of 20 percent between 2005 and 2007.In the period 2001–10, Angola had the world's highest annual average GDP growth, at 11.1 percent.

## Military

The Angolan Armed Forces (AAF) is headed by a Chief of Staff who reports to the Minister of Defense. There are three divisions—the Army, Navy, and National Air Force. Total manpower is about 110,000. Its equipment includes Russian-manufactured fighters, bombers, and transport planes. There are also Brazilian-made EMB-312 Tucano for training role, Czech-made L-39 for training and bombing role, Czech Zlin for training role and a variety of western made aircraft such as C-212\Aviocar, Sud Aviation Alouette III, etc.

As a Major Non-NATO Ally, Angola has access to a wide variety of American and western equipment, and is in the process of modernising its army in cooperation with the African Treaty Cooperation.