João Bernardo Vieira 754962 215866828 2008-05-30T01:16:29Z Tenmei 3987679 /* References */ link to "Tokyo International Conference on African Development" (TICAD-IV), 2008. {{Infobox President | name = João Bernardo Vieira | image = João Bernardo Vieira.jpg | order = [[President of Guinea-Bissau]] | primeminister = [[Carlos Gomes Júnior]]<br>[[Aristides Gomes]]<br>[[Martinho Ndafa Kabi]] | term_start = [[01 October]] [[2005]] | term_end = | predecessor = [[Henrique Rosa]] | successor = | term_start2 = [[16 May]] [[1984]] | term_end2 = [[07 May]] [[1999]] | predecessor2 = [[Carmen Pereira]] | successor2 = [[Ansumane Mané]] | primeminister3 = [[Victor Saúde Maria]] | term_start3 = [[14 November]][[1980]] | term_end3 = [[14 May]][[1984]] | predecessor3 = [[Luís de Almeida Cabral]] | successor3 = [[Carmen Pereira]] | order4 = [[Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau]] | president4 = [[Luís de Almeida Cabral]] | term_start4 = [[28 September]][[1978]] | term_end4 = [[14 November]][[1980]] | predecessor4 = [[Constantino Teixeira]] | successor4 = [[Victor Saúde Maria]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1939|04|27}} | birth_place = [[Bissau]], [[Portuguese Guinea]] | spouse = | party = [[Independent (politician)|Independent]] }} '''João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira''' (born [[27 April]] [[1939]]) has been [[Heads of State of Guinea-Bissau|President]] of [[Guinea-Bissau]] since [[1 October]] [[2005]]. Vieira was previously in power from 1980 to 1999 before being ousted during a [[Guinea-Bissau Civil War|civil war]]. He made a political comeback in 2005, winning that year's [[Guinea-Bissau presidential election, 2005|presidential election]]. Vieira was born in [[Bissau]]. Originally trained as an [[electrician]], he joined the [[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde]] (PAIGC) of [[Amilcar Cabral]] in 1960 and soon became a key player in the country's [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] against [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[colonial]] rule. As the war intensified, he demonstrated a great deal of skill as a military leader and rapidly rose through its ranks. Vieira was known to his comrades as "Nino" and this remained his ''[[nom de guerre]]'' for the duration of the struggle. Following regional council elections held in late 1972 in areas under PAIGC control, which led to the formation of a constituent assembly, Vieira was appointed president of the National People's Assembly. On [[28 September]] [[1978]], he was appointed [[Heads of Government of Guinea-Bissau|Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau]]. By 1980, economic conditions had deteriorated significantly leading to general dissatisfaction with the government. On [[14 November]] [[1980]], Vieira toppled the government of [[Luís Cabral]] in a bloodless military coup, which led to the PAIGC in [[Cape Verde]] splitting away and forming a separate party. The constitution was suspended and a nine-member military Council of the Revolution, chaired by Vieira, was set up. In 1984, a new constitution was approved that returned the country to civilian rule. Guinea-Bissau, like the rest of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] moved toward [[multiparty]] [[democracy]] in the early 1990s. The ban on political parties was lifted in [[1991]] and elections were held in [[1994]]. In the first round of the presidential election, held on [[3 July]] [[1994]], Vieira received 46.20% of the vote against seven other candidates. He finished first, but failed to win the required majority, which led to a second round of voting on [[7 August]]. He received 52.02% of the vote against 47.98% for [[Kumba Ialá|Kumba Yalá]],<ref name="Elections">[http://africanelections.tripod.com/gw.html Elections in Guinea-Bissau], African Elections Database.</ref> a former philosophy lecturer and candidate of the [[Social Renewal Party (Guinea-Bissau)|Social Renewal Party]] (PRS). International election observers considered both rounds generally free and fair. Vieira was sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Guinea-Bissau on [[29 September]] [[1994]]. Vieira was re-elected for another four-year term as President of PAIGC in mid-May 1998 at a party congress, with 438 votes in favor, eight opposed, and four abstaining.<ref>"Guinea-Bissau: President Vieira cleared to run for re-election", AFP (nl.newsbank.com), 14 May 1998.</ref> Vieira dismissed military chief of staff [[Ansumane Mané]] on [[6 June]] [[1998]]. Mané and his supporters in the military promptly rebelled, and the country descended into a [[Guinea-Bissau Civil War|civil war]] between forces loyal to Vieira and rebels loyal to Mané. A peace agreement was signed in November 1998, and a transitional government was formed in preparation for new elections in 1999.<ref name=Cap>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=6505 "Loyalist troops capitulate"], IRIN, 7 May 1999.</ref> On [[November 27]] [[1998]], the National People's Assembly passed a motion demanding Vieira's resignation, with 69 deputies supporting the motion and none opposing it.<ref>"Guinea-Bissau: Deputies call for Vieira's resignation", AFP (nl.newsbank.com), 27 November 1998.</ref> A renewed outbreak of fighting occurred in Bissau on [[6 May]] [[1999]], and Vieira's forces surrendered on [[7 May]].<ref name=Cap/><ref name=Ablaze>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/337853.stm "Guinea-Bissau palace ablaze"], BBC News, May 7, 1999.</ref> He sought refuge in the Portuguese embassy<ref name=Ablaze/><ref name=Port>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/366762.stm "Deposed Guinea-Bissau's president arrives in Portugal"], BBC News, June 11, 1999.</ref> and went into exile in Portugal in June.<ref name=Port/> On [[12 May]], former Prime Minister [[Manuel Saturnino da Costa]] was named acting President of PAIGC, replacing Vieira.<ref>"Guinea-Bissau ex-president replaced as party leader", RTP Internacional TV (nl.newsbank.com), May 12, 1999.</ref> Vieira was expelled from PAIGC at a party congress in September 1999 for "treasonable offences, support and incitement to warfare, and practices incompatible with the statutes of the party".<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=9028 "GUINEA-BISSAU: PAIGC chooses new chairman, expels Vieira"], IRIN, September 10, 1999.</ref> After President Kumba Yalá was overthrown in September 2003 military coup, Vieira returned to Bissau from Portugal on [[7 April]] [[2005]]. Arriving in the city's main football stadium by helicopter, he was met by over 5,000 cheering supporters. Although Vieira's supporters had collected 30,000 signatures for a petition urging him to run for president, he did not immediately confirm his intention to do so, saying that he was returning "to re-establish [his] civic rights and to register to vote in the coming elections" and that he wanted to contribute to peace and stability. He also said that he had forgiven his enemies and that he hoped others would forgive him for any harm he had caused. <ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=53798 "Nino Vieira returns from exile to a hero's welcome"], IRIN, April 7, 2005.</ref> On [[16 April]], it was announced that he intended to stand as a candidate in the [[Guinea-Bissau presidential election, 2005|June 2005 presidential election]].<ref name="Candidate">[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=53950 "Nino Vieira says he will contest presidential election"], IRIN, April 18, 2005.</ref> Although many considered Vieira to be ineligible because he had been living in exile and because of legal charges against him pertaining to the 1985 killings of suspected coup plotters, he was cleared to stand in the election by the Supreme Court in [[May 2005]], along with Yalá. The Court unanimously ruled in favor of his candidacy on the grounds that he had already ended his exile by returning in April and that no court records of the murder charges could be found.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=54350 "Vieira and Yala cleared to contest June presidential election"], IRIN, May 11, 2005.</ref> His old party, the PAIGC, backed former interim president [[Malam Bacai Sanhá]] as its candidate.<ref name="Candidate"/> According to official results, Vieira came in second in the [[19 June]] election with 28.87% of the vote, behind Malam Bacai Sanhá, and thus participated in the second round run-off. He officially defeated Sanhá in the [[Two-round system|run-off]] on [[24 July]] with 52.35% of the vote<ref name="Elections"/> and was sworn in as president on 1 October.<ref>[http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/HMYT-6JULXK?OpenDocument Report of the Secretary-General on developments in Guinea-Bissau and on the activities of the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office in Guinea-Bissau], United Nations Security Council, December 2, 2005.</ref> On [[October 28]], [[2005]], Vieira announced the dissolution of the government headed by his rival Prime Minister [[Carlos Gomes Junior]], citing the need to maintain stability; on [[November 2]] he appointed his political ally [[Aristides Gomes]] to the position.<ref>[http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=49912 "President appoints controversial new prime minister"], IRIN, November 2, 2005.</ref> === Career === *Political Commissioner & Military Chief for the Catió Region ([[1961]]) *Military Commander of the Southern Front ([[1964]]) *Member of the PAIGC Political Bureau ([[1964]] – [[1965]]) *Vice-President of the PAIGC War Council ([[1965]] – [[1967]]) *Southern Front Political Bureau Delegate ([[1967]] – [[1970]]) *Member of the PAIGC War Council Executive Committee ([[1970]] – [[1971]]) *Member of the PAIGC Permanent Secretariat ([[1973]] – ????) *Named PAIGC Deputy Secretary-general in [[1973]] *President of the People's National Assembly ([[1973]] – [[1978]]) *Prime Minister ([[28 September]] [[1978]] – [[14 November]] [[1980]]) *Chairman of the Council of the Revolution ([[14 November]] [[1980]] – [[14 May]] [[1984]]) *Chairman of the Council of State ([[16 May]] [[1984]] – [[29 September]] [[1994]]) *President of Guinea-Bissau ([[29 September]] [[1994]] – [[7 May]] [[1999]]) *President of Guinea-Bissau ([[1 October]] [[2005]] – present) ==References== {{reflist|2}} ==See also== * [[Tokyo International Conference on African Development]] (TICAD-IV), 2008. {{start box}} {{s-off}} {{Succession box | before = [[Constantino Teixeira]] | title = [[Heads of Government of Guinea-Bissau|Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau]] | years = [[1978]] – [[1980]] | after = [[Victor Saúde Maria]] }} {{Succession box | before = [[Luís Cabral]] | title = [[Heads of State of Guinea-Bissau|President of Guinea-Bissau]] | years = [[1980]] – [[1984]] | after = [[Carmen Pereira]] }} {{Succession box | before = [[Carmen Pereira]] | title = [[Heads of State of Guinea-Bissau|President of Guinea-Bissau]] | years = [[1984]] – [[1999]] | after = [[Ansumane Mané]] }} {{Incumbent succession box | before = [[Henrique Rosa]] | title = [[Heads of State of Guinea-Bissau|President of Guinea-Bissau]] | start = [[2005]] }} {{end box}} {{GBPresidents}} {{GuineaBPMs}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieira, Joao Bernardo}} [[Category:Guinea-Bissauan politicians]] [[Category:Current national leaders]] [[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]] [[Category:Leaders ousted by a coup]] [[Category:1939 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Presidents of Guinea-Bissau]] [[Category:Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau]] [[de:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[et:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[el:Νίνο Βιέιρα]] [[es:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[fr:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[id:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[ja:ジョアン・ヴィエイラ]] [[pl:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[pt:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[ru:Виейра, Жуан Бернарду]] [[fi:João Bernardo Vieira]] [[zh:若昂·贝尔纳多·维埃拉]]