Angolan politician (born 1956)
Manuel Domingos Vicente
(born 15 May 1956) is an
Angolan
politician who served as the
vice president of Angola
between September 2012 and September 2017. He was
chief executive officer
of
Sonangol
, Angola's state oil company, from 1999 to 2012, and he briefly served in the government as the minister of State for Economic Coordination in 2012. Vicente was the mastermind of a
triumvirate
alongside
Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento
and Manuel
Helder Vieira Dias
Junior, who built a secret banking network
Banco Africano de Investimentos
to transfer millions of dollars out of Angola from 1996 onward. While the US Treasury sanctioned the latter two in 2020 for misappropriating funds for personal benefit, they did not sanction Vicente.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Born at
Sambizanga
neighborhood in
Luanda
,
[1]
[2]
his father was a shoemaker while his mother was a laundress.
[1]
Vicente was raised by President
Jose Eduardo dos Santos
eldest sister, Isabel Eduardo dos Santos.
[3]
He received primary and secondary education at the Sao Domingos Mission School. However, his studies was interrupted by financial problems and he worked as a locksmith and linotypist to help support the family.
[1]
He earned an
electronic engineering
degree at the
University of Angola
(Agostinho Neto University)
[4]
[5]
in 1983.
[5]
In his professional training, Vicente had his degrees Substation and Transmission Lines, Furnas / Brazil-1985 Business Management of Petroleum, London, 1991, Marketing of Petroleum and its Derivatives, London-1991 Economics of Oil Operations - Petroleum Institute, London, 1991, Risk Analysis and Decision in the Oil Industry (OGCI) - Calgary 1992 petroleum Economics - (OGCI) - London 1992, among others connected to the oil industry.
[6]
Career
[
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]
Vicente worked as a chief engineer during the 1980s, and from 1987 to 1991 he headed the technical department of the Ministry of Oil. In 1991, he was appointed as Deputy Director-General of
Sonangol
, the state oil company.
[2]
In 1999, President
Jose Eduardo dos Santos
appointed him as head of Sonangol.
[4]
[5]
In that key post, he presided over the most important sector of the Angolan economy.
[4]
During his time in charge of the company, oil production increased dramatically.
[5]
He routinely traveled abroad, acquiring "an excellent reputation from the international business community".
[2]
In 1996 Vicente founded
Banco Africano de Investimentos
with Mario Palhares, the former deputy governor of
Angola’s central bank
and with Joaquim Costa David, previous head of Sonangol and later Minister of Finance. Using correspondent accounts with the U.S. subsidiary of
HSBC
and offshore companies, which HSBC did not raise any concerns about, this set up became a
money laundry
for the Angolan elites.
[7]
In 2010, a US Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
presented this as a case history.
[8]
In December 2009, Vicente was appointed as a member of the Political Bureau of the
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola
(MPLA), the ruling party.
[9]
A September 2011 report in
Novo Jornal
claimed that dos Santos intended for Vicente to be his successor and was followed by a flurry of speculation.
[5]
[10]
Vicente was, however, reappointed for another term at the head of Sonangol in December 2011, briefly tempering the speculation.
[5]
On 30 January 2012 dos Santos appointed Vicente as Minister of State for Economic Coordination ;
[4]
[5]
[11]
Francisco de Lemos Jose Maria
succeeded Vicente at Sonangol.
[4]
In line with earlier speculation, the move was generally interpreted by observers as suggesting that dos Santos was positioning Vicente as his eventual successor.
[4]
[5]
It appeared that Vicente's government post would give him a great deal of authority in managing the economy, and it would bolster Vicente's credibility and experience given that he had previously only been involved in the oil industry.
[5]
Nevertheless, it was believed that some other leading figures in the ruling party were skeptical about Vicente, given his relative inexperience in politics, and could be trying to resist the President's efforts to position him for the succession.
[4]
[5]
Agence France-Presse
reported in February 2012, citing an MPLA source, that Vicente would have the second spot on the MPLA's candidate list for the 2012 election, behind dos Santos, and would become
Vice President of Angola
after the election.
[12]
As anticipated, the MPLA Central Committee designated President dos Santos as head of the MPLA party list and Vicente as the second candidate on the list on 13 June 2012.
[13]
The MPLA won the election, and Vicente took office as Vice President on 26 September 2012.
[14]
In August 2014, Vicente participated in the
United States?Africa Leaders Summit
, an initiative of the American president,
Barack Obama
, held in Washington DC under the theme "Investing in the future of Africa."
[15]
In September 2014 Vicente attended the 69th
General Assembly of the United Nations
in
New York City
. He defended a reform in the
UN Security Council
, which should “be more in line with the international context and reflect an equal geographical representation through the increase in the number of permanent members”, namely by including an African country. He approached issues such as the resurgence of armed conflicts, the religious fundamentalism in some African countries, the importance of disarmament and the combating of drug and human trafficking and transnational organized crime.
[16]
In December 2016, the MPLA chose
Joao Lourenco
, the Minister of Defense and Vice-President of the MPLA, as the party's top candidate and therefore its presidential candidate for the
2017 election
. Lourenco, and not Vicente, was thus expected to succeed dos Santos as President.
[17]
In 2020, Vicente was described as mastermind of a
triumvirate
alongside
Leopoldino Fragoso do Nascimento
and Manuel
Helder Vieira Dias
Junior, who built a secret banking network to transfer millions of dollars out of Angola.
[7]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Vicente is married to Marinela Vicente and has 2 children.
[
citation needed
]
Awards
[
edit
]
In November 2014, Vicente was distinguished with the "Sirius Award" by the multinational corporation
Deloitte
.
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Biografia do vice-presidente da Republica de Angola"
(in Portuguese). Agencia Angola Press. 26 September 2012.
- ^
a
b
c
"Sonangol's ex-boss styled as Dos Santos's heir apparent"
, Agence France-Presse, 11 March 2012.
- ^
"Manuel Vicente: o delfim que foi criado pela irma de Eduardo dos Santos"
(in Portuguese). Negocios. 25 February 2016.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Christophe Boisbouvier,
"Angola : Manuel Vicente, l'homme du president dos Santos"
,
Jeune Afrique
, 8 February 2012
(in French)
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
Shrikesh Laxmidas,
"Oilman Vicente waits in Angola presidential wings"
, Reuters, 1 February 2012.
- ^
Biography of Vice President of the Republic of Angola
Angop (in Portuguese)
- ^
a
b
Anderson, Khadija Sharife and Mark (13 April 2020).
"How Angolan Elites Built a Private Banking Network to Move Their Riches Into the European Union"
. Retrieved
2024-04-07
.
- ^
"KEEPING FOREIGN CORRUPTION OUT OF THE UNITED STATES: FOUR CASE HISTORIES MAJORITY AND MINORITY STAFF REPORT"
(PDF)
. February 2010.
- ^
"Manuel Vicente"
,
Africa Energy Intelligence
, number 619, Africa Intelligence, 6 January 2010.
- ^
"Vicente to succeed Dos Santos?"
,
Africa Confidential
, volume 52, number 18, 9 September 2011.
- ^
"Presidente da Republica nomeia ministro de Estado da Coordenacao Economica"
, Angola Press Agency, 30 January 2012
(in Portuguese)
.
- ^
"Angola's Dos Santos to seek new term: party source"
, Agence France-Presse, 11 February 2012.
- ^
"President Eduardo dos Santos leads party's list"
, Angola Press Agency, 13 June 2012.
- ^
"Manuel Vicente inaugurated as Vice-president of Republic"
, Angola Press Agency, 26 September 2012.
- ^
Vice President attends US/Africa summit
, Angolan Press Agency, August 2, 2014.
- ^
Angola quer Africa em permanencia no Conselho de Seguranca
Observador (29-09-2014)
- ^
Herculano Coroado,
"Angola's Dos Santos not up for re-election in 2017 -party document"
, Reuters, 3 December 2016.
- ^
Vice President gets Sirius Award
Angola Press Agency, November 28, 2014.
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