General João Baptista de Matos

Businessman

Date of Birth: 30/05/1955

Married to Antonia Balbina Duarte, with children

Career: Company Commander, 1975; Lieutenant, Battalion Commander, 1975-76; Lieutenant, Sector Commander, 1976-77; Captain, Director of Regional Military Intelligence, 1977-79; Major Regional Commandant, 1979-87; Lieutenant-Colonel, 1987-89; Colonel, 1989-90; Major-General, 1991; Special Forces Commandant, 1991-92; General, FAA Chief of General Staff, 1992-2001.

Education: Commandant Course, 1975; Military Intelligence Course, 1976; Masters, Military Sciences, Military Academy, Frunze, Russia, 1983-87.

Commentary: De Matos' military leadership was decisive in turning the tide against Jonas Savimbi's national Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) forces after war resumed in 1992. He reorganised the army and changed strategy, emphasising the sustainability rather than just the ferocity of offensives. Improved logistics, training and equipment were the key to De Matos' new model FAA; troop morale improved too. Inpatient towards politicians and ideology, De Matos never joined the MPLA and established considerable autonomy from the politicians in Luanda. A bold move was to hire South African security firm Executive Outcomes (EO) to assist the Angolan Armed Forces' (FAA) war effort; many of EO's hired soldiers had served in the South African special forces alongside those of UNITA. Although they failed to drive UNITA from the diamond fields, EO substantially improved communications and logistics. De Matos stayed in touch with EO after their contract ended and is close to EO-linked security company Alpha 5. Not enthusiastic about the 1994 Lusaka accords, De Matos thought the government should have maximised its advatage, taking all the major diamond fields in Lunda Norte and Sul (UNITA's financial backbone at the time). De Matos was the prime mover in Luanda's alliance with Rwanda's General Paul Kagame and Laurent-Desire Kabila's Alliance des Forces Democratiques pour la Liberation du Congo-Kinshasa (AFDL) to overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko. De Matos' support for the AFDL (transport and equipment) and the return of the Katangese gendarmes (who had been based in Angola since the late 1970s) proved critical for Kabila. De Matos' charisma and competence distinguish him from much of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) hierarchy. De Matos was dismissed from his post as Chief of General Staff in 2001. Recently he has been developing his business interests.