António Nabuco Sebastião Dembo (1944 – February 25, 2002) was an Angolan engineer, politician, diplomat and military commander. Served as Vice President (1992–2002) and later President (2002) of

UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...

, an

anti-Communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

rebel group that fought against the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (, abbr. MPLA), from 1977–1990 called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan social democratic political party. The MPLA fought against the P ...

in the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

. Born to Sebastião Dembo and Muhemba Nabuco in Nambuangongo, Bengo Province, he completed his primary schooling at Muxaluando and Quimai

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

schools. His secondary education was at El Harrach and École Nationale d'Ingénieurs et Techniciens d'Algérie in

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

. António Dembo joined UNITA in 1969. After traveling throughout Africa on behalf of UNITA, he returned in 1982 to become commander for the Northern Front and later the Northern Front chief of staff. He became UNITA's Vice President in 1992 when the

resumed, succeeding Jeremias Chitunda, who was assassinated by the Angolan government in

Luanda Luanda ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Angola, largest city of Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major industrial, cultural and urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atlantic coast, Luanda is Ang ...

that year. He also became the general in charge of UNITA's Special Commandos, the Tupamaros. After the war turned against UNITA in 2001–2002, Dembo's forces were constantly on the run from government troops. Following the death in battle of its leader

Jonas Savimbi Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi (; 3 August 1934 – 22 February 2002) was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola ( UNITA). UNITA was on ...

on February 22, 2002, Dembo became the President of UNITA. However, Dembo, who was also wounded in the same attack that killed Savimbi, and already weakened by

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, died three days later. Dembo's succession of Savimbi had been pre-ordained by Savimbi and the UNITA leadership. In 1997, Savimbi and the UNITA leadership named Dembo as the successor in the event of Savimbi's death. Consistent with this pre-ordained succession, Dembo assumed leadership of UNITA immediately following Savimbi's death in combat. Following Dembo's death, UNITA's leadership was assumed by Paulo Lukamba Gato, who had served as UNITA's ambassador to Europe under Savimbi.

References

External links

"Angola Rebels Demand Death Probe," BBC News, February 28, 2002.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dembo, Antonio 1944 births 2002 deaths People from Bengo Province Angolan anti-communists People of the Angolan Civil War Angolan rebels Assassinated Angolan politicians Deaths by firearm in Angola Members of UNITA UNITA politicians 20th-century Angolan politicians 21st-century Angolan people People from Portuguese Angola African politicians assassinated in the 2000s Politicians assassinated in 2002

References

Further reading

External links