BIOGRAPHY: JOAQUIM ALBERTO CHISSANO
Joaquim Chissano served as Head of State of Mozambique from November 1986 to February 2005. He was elected President in October 1994 and then again in December 1999, announcing that he would step down from office in 2004.
In 1992, Mr Chissano helped to end Mozambique’s 16-year civil war and reconcile a divided nation, offering 15,000 places in Mozambique’s 30,000-strong army to former opposition RENAMO (Resistência Nacional Moçambicana) soldiers.
Mr Chissano implemented a deliberate shift from Marxist-Leninist ideology to multiparty democracy and a mixed economy. He successfully negotiated a reduction in Mozambique’s debt repayments and oversaw reforms that have led to sustained economic growth.
Between 2003 and 2005, Mr Chissano served as Chair of the African Union. In 2006, he was appointed the United Nations Special Envoy to Uganda.
Rise to power
Born in Chibuto, Gaza province, 1939, Joaquim Chissano attended primary and secondary high school in Lourenco Marques (now Maputo). In 1960, Mr Chissano went to college in Lisbon, Portugal. It was in Europe that he formed and headed a student group called the National Union of Mozambican Students (UNEMO), which aimed to alert foreign sympathisers to Mozambique’s situation under Portuguese rule.
In June 1962, UNEMO joined with several other liberation groups to form the Frente de Libertacao de Mocambique (FRELIMO), which based itself in Tanzania. In 1964, he was appointed FRELIMO’s representative to the Tanzanian government. He held this position for the next ten years and during this time fought in the guerrilla war against Portugal.
Following the military coup in Portugal in 1974, negotiations for a joint Portuguese-FRELIMO transitional government commenced, and Chissano became Prime Minister of the transitional government.
When Mozambique gained independence in 1975, Mr Chissano was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation under President Samora Machel. During his time as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Chissano did much to improve links with the West and secure foreign aid for his country.
Mr Chissano held the post of Foreign Minister until President Machel died in a plane crash in South Africa on 19th October 1986. Mr Chissano was then sworn in as Mozambique’s President, head of the FRELIMO Party, and Chief of the Armed Forces.
Key dates
| D.O.B | October 22nd 1939 (Chibuto, Gaza Province, South Mozambique) |
| 1962 | Founding Member, Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) FRELIMO |
| 1964-1974 | FRELIMO Secretary |
| 1969-1974 | Chief FRELIMO Representative in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania |
| 1974-1975 | Prime Minister, Transitional Government of Mozambique |
| 1975-1986 | Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Mozambique |
| 1986-2005 | President & Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Republic of Mozambique |
| 2003-2005 | Chair, African Union |
| 2005-present | Special Envoy, United Nations |