Angolan Leader Ousts Predecessor’s Daughter as Oil Chief
- 7 years ago
Angolan Leader Ousts Predecessor’s Daughter as Oil Chief
But Mr. Lourenço vowed during his campaign to distance himself from President dos Santos,
and he did so on Wednesday with a flourish, dismissing not only Ms. dos Santos but the company’s board as well.
“We don’t know if this is just dos Santos’s cabal having had its share of the trough and now it’s time for the new guard to have their turn.”
Sonangol is not only the dominant player in Angola’s oil industry,
but also a provider of telecommunications services, radio transmission and air transportation.
The state oil company, Sonangol, has long been viewed as a vehicle for promoting the interests
of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for 38 years.
After making a campaign promise to root out nepotism, Angola’s new leader turned his sights Wednesday
on the oil industry, ousting his predecessor’s daughter as head of the nation’s largest company.
A group of 12 influential lawyers led by David Mendes, an independent member of the National Assembly, had sought to remove her from her
position, claiming she was put in place to bury evidence of her father’s embezzlement at the company before he left office in September.
Ms. dos Santos was appointed as head of Sonangol last year even though she had no management experience in the oil industry.
But Mr. Lourenço vowed during his campaign to distance himself from President dos Santos,
and he did so on Wednesday with a flourish, dismissing not only Ms. dos Santos but the company’s board as well.
“We don’t know if this is just dos Santos’s cabal having had its share of the trough and now it’s time for the new guard to have their turn.”
Sonangol is not only the dominant player in Angola’s oil industry,
but also a provider of telecommunications services, radio transmission and air transportation.
The state oil company, Sonangol, has long been viewed as a vehicle for promoting the interests
of former President José Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled the country for 38 years.
After making a campaign promise to root out nepotism, Angola’s new leader turned his sights Wednesday
on the oil industry, ousting his predecessor’s daughter as head of the nation’s largest company.
A group of 12 influential lawyers led by David Mendes, an independent member of the National Assembly, had sought to remove her from her
position, claiming she was put in place to bury evidence of her father’s embezzlement at the company before he left office in September.
Ms. dos Santos was appointed as head of Sonangol last year even though she had no management experience in the oil industry.