Ex-party boss named Angola’s new defence minister
PHOTO | AFP South African President Jacob Zuma (left) is welcomed by Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos at the presidential palace in Luanda, on August 23, 2013.
What you need to know:
- Mr Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, former secretary general of the MPLA, will inherit control of the quick-spending ministry which, along with public order institutions, gobbled up 16 per cent of Angola’s oil-fuelled national budget last year.
LUANDA, Wednesday
Long-serving Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has replaced his powerful defence minister with the former head of the ruling party, a statement said Wednesday.
Mr Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, former secretary general of the MPLA, will inherit control of the quick-spending ministry which, along with public order institutions, gobbled up 16 per cent of Angola’s oil-fuelled national budget last year.
In 2013 Angola leapfroged South Africa to become the continent’s second largest defence spender behind Algeria, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
During the year military spending increased by 36 per cent to roughly $6.1 billion, almost on par with Mexico, Indonesia, Pakistan or Sweden.
Mr Lourenco ran the MPLA for five years until 2003, and remains a key player in the party, sitting on the 46-member politburo.
