Basic HTML Version
15
www.ebizguides.com
General Information
A 1994 peace accord, (Lusaka protocol) between the
government and UNITA provided for the integration
of former UNITA insurgents into the government. A
national unity government was installed in 1997, but
serious fighting resumed in late 1998, rendering hun-
dreds of thousands of people homeless. President
José Eduardo dos Santos suspended the regular
functioning of democratic instances due to the con-
flict.
On February 22, 2002, Jonas Savimbi, the leader of
UNITA, was shot dead and a cease-fire was reached
by the two factions. On April 4, 2002, the Angolan
Government and UNITA signed the Luena Memo-
randum of Understanding (MOU), which formalized
the cease-fire that prevailed following Savimbi's
death. UNITA and the MPLA held their first post-war
party congresses in 2003.
27 years of civil war not only ravaged the country's
political and social institutions. The government es-
timates that 4,7 million people were internally dis-
placed by the civil war. In March 2007, the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Angola
jointly celebrated the end of a 5-year organized vol-
untary repatriation program that returned home more
than 400,000 Angolan refugees. However, over
200,000 refugees remain outside Angola, mainly in
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the
Congo and Namibia.
General elections due in the third quarter of 2012 are
only the second since the end of the civil war.
The national flag of Angola is split horizontally into
an upper red half and a lower black half. The red is
for the blood spilt by Angolans during their independ-
ence struggles, while the black is for the continent
of Africa. The symbol in the middle is of a crossed
cog wheel and machete with a yellow star, repre-
senting the workers. It was adopted during a time
when Angola had a Marxist government, and it thus
supposed to evoke the image of the hammer and
sickle found on the flag of the former Soviet Union, a
common symbol of Communism.
COAT OF ARMS
The coat of arms of Angola reflects the recent past
of the new nation. There is heavy Marxist imagery
found on the coat of arms, that are expanded from
what is found on the national flag.
In the center, machete and hoe represent the revolu-
tion through which the nation gained independence,
and the importance of agricultural workers.
Above both emblems is a star that is often found in
many socialist images. The star represents progress
and the rising sun is the traditional symbol of a new
beginning. These emblems are all enclosed within a
circle formed by a half cog-wheel that represents the
industrial workers, and half vine of coffee leaves that
represents the coffee industry.
At the bottom, an open book symbolizes education.
A banner reads "Republic of Angola" at the bottom,
albeit in Portuguese.
FLAG
NATIONAL SYMBOLS