37 Years later, President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola steps down

By Nuel Nonny | 3rd February 2017

Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, President of Angola is set to finally relinquish power and has named a successor on Friday.

One of Africa’s longest-serving heads of government, Dos Santos has been president of the oil-rich country for 37 years, taking office after the death of the first Angolan president, Agostinho Neto.

Dos Santos was elected as President of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) on 20 September 1979, and took office as President of Angola, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces on 21 September

According to an AFP report, the Angolan president told a meeting of the ruling MPLA on Friday that he was ready to step down ahead of the general elections in August 2017, bringing an end to a long reign second only to that of Equatorial Guinea’s President Teodoro Nguema Mbassogo, on the African continent.

“The party approved the name of the candidate heading the list in the August elections as (Defence Minister) Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco,” he said.