João Bernardo Vieira

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João Bernardo Vieira

João Bernardo Vieira [ 'ʒu̯ɐ̃u̯ bərˈnardu' vi̯ɐi̯rɐ ] (called Nino ; born April 27, 1939 in Bissau ; † March 2, 2009 ibid) was president of from 1980 to 1999 and from 2005 until his murder by the military on March 2, 2009 Guinea-Bissau .

War of Independence

Vieira was originally an electrician and joined the independence movement Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde (PAIGC) in 1960 , which waged a guerrilla war against Portugal until 1974 . In 1960 he received military training in the People's Republic of China and in 1964 was in charge of the border area with Guinea as commander of the "Southern Front" . He was also a member of the PAIGC Politburo . In 1970 he became a member of the Council of War of Guinea-Bissau and, after the unilateral declaration of independence on September 24, 1973, he became defense minister and a member of the People's Assembly and until 1978 its president. In 1973 he also became General Secretary of the PAIGC. Since his time as partisan commander he was called Nino .

President 1980 to 1999

Vieira in September 1980

On September 28, 1978 he became Prime Minister, later also Commander of the Army, whereby the government became increasingly unpopular due to the poor economic situation. In a bloodless coup on November 14, 1980, he overthrew President Luís de Almeida Cabral and became head of state as chairman of a nine-member Revolutionary Council. In 1981 he also took over the chairmanship of the PAIGC. Vieira's putsch also ended the Cape Verdeans' strong position in the leadership of Guinea-Bissau, which went back to the time of the PAIGC founder Amílcar Cabral , the half-brother of the overthrown president who was killed in 1973.

After a new constitution was passed, Parliamentary President Carmen Pereira became head of state for two days on May 14, 1984, before Vieira resumed this position on May 16, now as the elected head of state and government in his function as chairman of the fifteen-member State Council. The list of the unity party PAIGC had received 96% of the vote in April 1984.

In 1991, democratization began in Guinea-Bissau and new parties were allowed. While Vieira's re-election in 1989 was purely a matter of form, in 1994 he had to face a democratic election for the first time. He reached 46.2% of the votes in the first ballot on July 3, 1994 and won on August 7, 1994 with 52.02% against the 1989 excluded from the PAIGC Kumba Ialá of the Partido para a Renovação Social (PRS). In the parliamentary elections, which also took place on July 3 and have been postponed several times since the announcement of free elections in 1991, the PAIGC was able to win a majority.

In June 1998, following the suspension of the Chief of Staff of the military , General Ansumané Mané , due to illegal arms deals, a military coup began on May 10, 1998, but was suppressed with the help of Senegalese and Guinean troops. A ceasefire agreement was signed in Praia in August and lasted until mid-October, and after renewed fighting, Vieira and Mané signed a peace treaty in Abuja in November . A peacekeeping force from the West African Economic Community , ECOWAS , was deployed to secure the agreement . In December, Francisco Fadul, a confidante of Mané's opponents, was nominated as the new prime minister. As Vieira and Fadul could not agree on the composition of the government, the formation of the government dragged on until February 1999. After Guinea and Senegal withdrew their troops in March, Vieira quickly lost control, and fighting had resumed since the end of January. On May 6th, Vieira's troops capitulated, he himself fled first to the French and then to the Portuguese embassy . The new leadership allowed him to go into exile in Portugal in June , where he was granted asylum .

President 2005

Vieira returned from exile on April 7, 2005 and declared his candidacy for the presidential election. In a public statement, he regretted mistakes and injustice during his rule in the years after 1980. At first, the former heads of state were refused participation, but the Supreme Court allowed his candidacy, as well as Ialas and Fadul.

In the first ballot on June 19, 2005, he came second as an independent candidate after the applicant of the PAIGC Malam Bacai Sanhá and before Ialá. On July 24, he won the second ballot with 52.35% against Sanhá and took office on October 1, 2005 as the successor to Henrique Pereira Rosa . In the second ballot he was supported by Ialá, but not by his PRS party. One problem was his tense relationship with Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior , who has been in office since 2004 and who supported his party friend Sanhá. After the first meeting since the election, they both agreed to cohabitation . On October 29, 2005, Vieira announced the dismissal of Gomes and his government after renewed conflicts. Aristides Gomes , one of the 14 parliamentarians who left the 45-member PAIGC parliamentary group in October and who supported Vieira in the election campaign, was appointed his successor on November 2, 2005 and was sworn in immediately. In parliament, Vieira and Aristides Gomes were dependent on Ialás PRS, which was involved in the new government. In spring 2007 the PAIGC formed a three-party coalition with the PRS and the social democratic PUSD. The new Prime Minister was Martinho Ndafa Kabi , who was dismissed by Vieira a year later.

Attempted coup in 2008 and assassination in 2009

The parliamentary elections on November 16, 2008 brought the PAIGC a stable two-thirds majority in parliament. A week after the elections, the president's residence was the target of a coup attempt, but the rebelling soldiers were repulsed by Viera's bodyguards. The coup attempt led to a deterioration in the relationship between Vieira and the military leadership.

When Guinea-Bissau's army chief, General Batista Tagme Na Waie, was killed in an attack on the military headquarters on March 1, 2009, military officials blamed Vieira for the attack, even if there is no evidence of his involvement in Na Waie's death. The morning of the next day, João Bernardo Vieira was shot dead by soldiers.

See also

Web links

Commons : João Bernardo Vieira  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Military kills President of Guinea-Bissau , AFP. March 2, 2009. 
  2. ↑ International Herald Tribune : 6 Guinea-Bissau troops arrested in attempted coup from November 24, 2008 (English; accessed March 2, 2009).
  3. ↑ Tagesschau : Soldiers kill President of Guinea-Bissau ( Memento from August 1, 2010 on WebCite ) from March 2, 2009 (accessed on March 2, 2009).
personal data
SURNAME Vieira, João Bernardo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guinea-Bissau politician, President of Guinea-Bissau
DATE OF BIRTH April 27, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Bissau
DATE OF DEATH March 2, 2009
Place of death Bissau