Jose Pedro de Morais

Former Minister of Finance (2002-2008)

Date of Birth: 20/12/1955
Place of Birth: Kuito, Bie Province

Ethnicity: Ocimbundu

Career: Director, foreign trade, Ministry of Industry, 1977-84; United Nations Development Programme, 1984-87; Director, international cooperation, Ministry of Industry, 1987; Director, economic affairs, Ministry of External Relations, 1989-90; Adcisor, Ministry of Industry, 1990-91; Secretary of State for Construction, 1991-92; Governor, World Bank, 1993; Coordinator, European Fund for Development, 1993; Minister of Planning and Economic Coordination, 1994-1996; Executive Director, International Monetary Fund, 1996 to date; Minister of Finance, 2002-2008

Commentary: A dynamic technocrat and an impressive economist, De Morais is fluent in English, French and Portuguese. Having held senior economic posts in the civil service, he was part of a newreform team appointed by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos after the 1993 economic collapse. In 1994 De Morais headed a new Ministry, of Planning and Economic coordinatio; his deputy was Eduardo Severim de Morais (no relation), a white Angolan committed to market economics despite being trained in Cuba. The two drafted the Programa Economico e Social, designed to cut the budget deficit, control inflation and merge exchange rates. They halved inflation to 972 percent in 1994, although it rose again in January 1995. Highly rated by foreign donors and business, De Morais was frustrated by the political constraints on economic management, notably the rerouting of substantial government revenue through channels outside formal budgetary and fiscal controls. After two years as Minister, in June 1996 he was happy to move to Washington as Angola's alternate Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund representing Southern African countries. He was Angola's Minister of Finance from 2002 to 2008.