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National Liberation Front of Angola
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Portuguese: Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto.
Founded in 1954 as the União dos Povos do Norte de Angola guerrilla movement, it was known after 1959 as the União dos Povos de Angola (UPA) guerrilla movement, and from 1961 as the FNLA guerrilla movement.
Ahead of the first multiparty elections in 1992, the FNLA was reorganized as a political party. The FNLA received 2.4% of the votes and had five Members of Parliament elected. In the 2008 parliamentary election, the FNLA received 1.11% of the vote, winning three out of 220 seats.
In 1954, the United People of Northern Angola (UPNA) was formed as a separatist movement for the Bakongo tribe who wished to re-establish its 16th-century feudal kingdom but was also a protest movement against forced labour. Holden Roberto was to be the king of that land.
By 1958, the organisation's name had been changed to the "União das Populações de Angola" (UPA) under Holden Roberto who came from São Salvador, Bakongo, Northern Angola with the newly named organisation described as an ethnic political movement. In March 1961, the UPA began an uprising in the north massacring thousands of white settlers and their servants, most of the Bailundo southern ethnicity, "assimilados", African Catholics and tribal members other than the Bakongo tribe, men, women and children. The Portuguese government responded by sending soldiers to Angola and more than 50,000 people died in the violence by the end of 1961. It was said more than a million refugees fled the north of Angola for Zaire.
In an attempt to become a national political movement, it merged with the "Partido Democratico de Angola" (PDA) to form the "Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola" (FNLA). By February 1962, the FNLA had merged into an organisation called the Angolan Revolutionary Government in Exile (GRAE) with Roberto as its President and Jonas Savimbi as its foreign minister, based in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was recognised by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as Angola's only freedom movement until 1971. Its core membership were Angolan refugees and expatriates in Zaire.
The United States government began aiding the FNLA in 1961 during the Kennedy administration and rerouted one-third of its official aid to Zaire to the FNLA and UNITA organisations. Over the course of many years, the governments of Algeria, Tunisia, West Germany, Ghana, Israel, France, Romania, the People's Republic of China, South Africa, the United States, Zaire, and Liberia actively supported and aided the FNLA. The French government supplied men and loaned one million pounds sterling without interest. The Israeli government gave aid to the FNLA between 1963 and 1969. Holden Roberto visited Israel during the 1960s, and FNLA members were sent to Israel for training. During the 1970s, the Israeli government shipped arms to the FNLA through Zaire. The People's Republic of China supplied the FNLA with military equipment and at least 112 military advisers in 1974.
By July 1964, GRAE's right as the only liberation movement was challenged with the resignation of the Congolese Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula, their backer, and the departure of Jonas Savimbi, who went on to form his own liberation movement UNITA because of Roberto's dictatorial leadership, unwillingness to accept non-western support and a lack of a political program. Roberto saw off a "coup d'état" in June 1965 by his defence minister and in November of the same year, his brother-in-law, Mobutu Sese Seko, took control of the Congo (later Zaire) in a coup. But by 1968, GRAE's unity had begun to disintegrate.
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National Liberation Front of Angola
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (Portuguese: Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto.
Founded in 1954 as the União dos Povos do Norte de Angola guerrilla movement, it was known after 1959 as the União dos Povos de Angola (UPA) guerrilla movement, and from 1961 as the FNLA guerrilla movement.
Ahead of the first multiparty elections in 1992, the FNLA was reorganized as a political party. The FNLA received 2.4% of the votes and had five Members of Parliament elected. In the 2008 parliamentary election, the FNLA received 1.11% of the vote, winning three out of 220 seats.
In 1954, the United People of Northern Angola (UPNA) was formed as a separatist movement for the Bakongo tribe who wished to re-establish its 16th-century feudal kingdom but was also a protest movement against forced labour. Holden Roberto was to be the king of that land.
By 1958, the organisation's name had been changed to the "União das Populações de Angola" (UPA) under Holden Roberto who came from São Salvador, Bakongo, Northern Angola with the newly named organisation described as an ethnic political movement. In March 1961, the UPA began an uprising in the north massacring thousands of white settlers and their servants, most of the Bailundo southern ethnicity, "assimilados", African Catholics and tribal members other than the Bakongo tribe, men, women and children. The Portuguese government responded by sending soldiers to Angola and more than 50,000 people died in the violence by the end of 1961. It was said more than a million refugees fled the north of Angola for Zaire.
In an attempt to become a national political movement, it merged with the "Partido Democratico de Angola" (PDA) to form the "Frente Nacional de Libertação de Angola" (FNLA). By February 1962, the FNLA had merged into an organisation called the Angolan Revolutionary Government in Exile (GRAE) with Roberto as its President and Jonas Savimbi as its foreign minister, based in Kinshasa, Zaire. It was recognised by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) as Angola's only freedom movement until 1971. Its core membership were Angolan refugees and expatriates in Zaire.
The United States government began aiding the FNLA in 1961 during the Kennedy administration and rerouted one-third of its official aid to Zaire to the FNLA and UNITA organisations. Over the course of many years, the governments of Algeria, Tunisia, West Germany, Ghana, Israel, France, Romania, the People's Republic of China, South Africa, the United States, Zaire, and Liberia actively supported and aided the FNLA. The French government supplied men and loaned one million pounds sterling without interest. The Israeli government gave aid to the FNLA between 1963 and 1969. Holden Roberto visited Israel during the 1960s, and FNLA members were sent to Israel for training. During the 1970s, the Israeli government shipped arms to the FNLA through Zaire. The People's Republic of China supplied the FNLA with military equipment and at least 112 military advisers in 1974.
By July 1964, GRAE's right as the only liberation movement was challenged with the resignation of the Congolese Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula, their backer, and the departure of Jonas Savimbi, who went on to form his own liberation movement UNITA because of Roberto's dictatorial leadership, unwillingness to accept non-western support and a lack of a political program. Roberto saw off a "coup d'état" in June 1965 by his defence minister and in November of the same year, his brother-in-law, Mobutu Sese Seko, took control of the Congo (later Zaire) in a coup. But by 1968, GRAE's unity had begun to disintegrate.
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