Luanda – Former Angolan Prime Minister and nationalist, Fernando José de França Van-Dúnem, who died on the 12th of this month, in Portugal, due to illness, at the age of 89, was buried on Monday, in the Alto das Cruzes Cemetery, in Luanda Province.
Before his burial, a mass was held with the body present, moments of praise and the reading of farewell messages by members of the government, family and friends.
At the time, his nephew Carlos Van-Dúnem, who read the message on behalf of the family, said that the uncle “was an entity of great dimension and respect within the family and the inspiration for many of us to become honest, responsible and hard-working people, due to his good teachings”.
"He was always a person who defended his homeland, as he was a patriot and worked hard for Angolan politics. And when he ended his political life, he embraced the Angolan academy, where he was seen as a mark as he did in politics, and even reached the doctorate", he said.
Grandson Helder Van-Dúnem considered that the family had lost such a stable pillar, which ended up shaking the entire society.
"Today, we are not only experiencing a moment of pain, but we are also paying homage to you with a moment of honour, a great bulk of people from all social sections of the country. I also understood what you were saying and I see that you were truly a hero for Angola and Africa for completing your thesis on African Borders", he highlighted.
Before heading to the Alto das Cruzes Cemetery, França Van-Dúnem's body was present at wake, at the Army Headquarters (former RI-20), where several entities attended, with emphasis on the Head of State, João Lourenço, and the Speaker of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira.
Born on 24 August 1934 in Luanda, Fernando José de França Van-Dúnem, a career diplomat, was Prime Minister twice, between 1991 and 1992 and from 1996 to 1999, first speaker of the National Assembly from 1992 to 1996 and deputy chairman of the African Union as well as member of the Pan-African Parliament.
He was also Angola's ambassador to Portugal and Belgium, deputy Foreign minister, minister of Justice and a full-time Professor at the Catholic University.
Beyond the border, from 1982 to 1986, he was Angola's ambassador to Portugal and Spain, after having held the same positions in Belgium, the Netherlands and the European Economic Community, now the European Union, between 1979 and 1982.
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