Mr Lopo Fortunato Ferreira Do Nascimento

The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) MP; Former MPLA Secretary General; Former Prime Minister (1975-78)

Date of Birth: 10/06/1942
Place of Birth: Luanda

Married to Maria do Carmo Assis do Nascimento

Career: member, Presidential Council, pre-Independence transitional government, Jan-Nov 1975; Prime Minister, 1976-78; Minister of Internal Trade, 1977-78; Minister of Foreign Trade, 1979-82; Minister of Planning, 1982-86; Governor, Huila Province, 1986-91; Minister of Territorial Administration, 1991-92; MPLA Secretary-General, 1993-1999

Commentary: Lopo Do Nascimento, one of the most capable ministers in the government and former leader of its liberal right wing, has argued his case robustly against colleagues and President Jose dos Santos. Popular with MPLA's grassroots, Do Nascimento comfortably won the 1993 party election for Secretary-General,but following this, his relationship with the leadership became uneasy: President Agostinho Neto criticised Do Nascimento for 'bourgeois tendencies' while accepting his talents as an administrator. In 1981 President Dos Santos appointed Do Nascimento Governor of southern, war torn Huila, Cunene and Namibe provinces, with headquarters in Lubango. This removed him from the capital - 'banishment' as MPLA apparatchiks then said - but his redeployment boosted MPLA support in the south and helped decentralise economic power: Do Nascimento introduced economic reforms there while Luanda persisted with state socialism. Wealthy, with holdings in Italian corporations, Do Nascimento has a reputation for consistency and integrity. Fluent in French, English, Kimundu and Portuguese, he is an attractive figure for Western diplomats who have periodically touted him as a future president; not an accolade that has helped his position in the MPLA. In 2008 he won a seat in the parliamentary elections.