António Artur Sanhá (born 1965) is a
Bissau-Guinean politician. He was the
Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 28 September 2003 to 10 May 2004 and also served as Secretary-General of the
Party for Social Renewal
The Social Renewal Party (, PRS) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. It is one of the country's leading parties.
History 1990s
Multi-party democracy was introduced to Guinea-Bissau by the ruling African Party for the Independence of Guinea and ...
(PRS).
Career
Following the election of PRS leader
Kumba Ialá
Kumba Ialá Embaló, also spelled Yalá (15 March 1953 – 4 April 2014), was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Bala ...
as President, Sanhá was appointed as
Minister of Internal Administration in the government named on 19 February 2000, under Prime Minister
Caetano N'Tchama. In March 2001, the PRS wanted Ialá to appoint Sanhá, the Secretary-General of the PRS,
["Guinea-Bissau leader and ruling party disagree over prime ministerial post", RDP Africa web site (nl.newsbank.com), March 14, 2001.] as Prime Minister to replace N'Tchama,
["Rights league welcomes interior minister’s dismissal"]
IRIN, 29 August 2001. but Ialá resisted this, considering Sanhá too radical;
[ he appointed ]Faustino Imbali
Faustino Fudut Imbali (born 1 May 1956)Peter Karibe Mendy (2013) ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau'', Scarecrow Press, p229 is a Guinea-Bissau, Bissau-Guinean politician who was Heads of Government of Guinea-Bissau, Prime ...
as Prime Minister instead.[
Sanhá was removed from his position as Interior Minister by Ialá in August 2001 following suspicions regarding the death of a woman,][ Florinda Baptista,]["Junta insists on Artur Sanha as prime minister"]
IRIN, 23 September 2003. with whom Sanhá was said to have been romantically involved, although Ialá did not give a reason for Sanhá's dismissal.[ Sanhá said that he did not know the woman, but her family said that people close to Sanhá had forced her into having an abortion.
After Ialá was ousted in a ]military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
on 14 September 2003, the military junta chose Sanhá as Prime Minister of the transitional government, although its choice of Sanhá was opposed by 15 of the 17 involved political parties because Sanhá was not a political independent;[ concerns also remained about the 2001 incident.][ Sanhá was nevertheless sworn in as Prime Minister on 28 September in ]Bissau
Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...
. His transitional government, which was planned to govern for six months prior to a new parliamentary election, was sworn in on 3 October. Following the parliamentary election, which was held in March 2004, a report accused Sanhá of interfering in the election and thereby causing disorganization to worsen; he defended himself by saying he had gotten involved "only after things began to go wrong". A new government under PAIGC
The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (, PAIGC) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal, the party turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was o ...
leader Carlos Gomes Júnior
Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior (born December 19, 1949)
(in Portuguese).
, in which Ialá officially took third place, police fired on the protesters and arrested Sanhá, who was leading the march and was found by police to be carrying a loaded gun.
Sanhá was angered by the failure of the PRS to place his name at the top of the party's candidate list for the November 2008 parliamentary election, and he resigned in October 2008. At a press conference on 21 October, he stated that he could "no longer endure the injustice that prevails within the PRS", arguing that it was "adrift because of some opportunists".October 2008 "Ex-PM abandona Partido de Koumba Yalá na Guiné-Bissau"
Panapress, 21 October 2008 .
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanha, Artur
1965 births
Living people
Prime ministers of Guinea-Bissau
Party for Social Renewal politicians
Heads of government who were later imprisoned