Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, also known as Nandó, is an Angolan politician who has served as the Vice President of Angola from February 2010 to September 2012. He also served as the Prime Minister of Angola between 2002 and 2008, and President of the National Assembly of Angola from 2008 to 2010. He has been the President of the National Assembly since 2012.
Background
Ethnicity:
His parents were emigrant from São Tomé and Príncipe.
Piedade was born on the 5th of March, 1950 in Luanda, Angola. His parents emigrated to Angola from São Tomé and Príncipe. Fernando is a cousin of President José Eduardo dos Santos.
Education
After his primary and secondary education, Santos graduated from Agostinho Neto University in Angola in 2009, where he obtained a BA in Law.
Piedade becan his career in 1971 when he joined the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). After Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975, he moved to the People's Police Corps of Angola, becoming a division head in 1978. In 1981 he moved to the Ministry of the Interior, becoming Deputy Minister in 1984. In the subsequent year, he served as a member of the MPLA-Workers' Party congress and given the rank of colonel in the Angolan military. Thereafter, he became a member of the People's Assembly, beginning a succession of appointments to government ministerial posts.
Religion
Although Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos is a Christian, he puts religious sentiment aside when dealing with the affairs of his country. He believes that for any country to progress, religion and political differences need to be dealt with.
Politics
His political views are very clear and straight. Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos, while speaking in Luanda urged the MPs to interpret correctly the wishes of their respective peoples, despite the world's socio-political situation.
"The peoples want peace, stability and social wellbeing", said Fernando da Piedade during the formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Assembly and the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU).
Fernando da Piedade said the Angolan Parliament will keep making an effort to contribute to the IPU programmes, according to its possibilities. He also reiterated that the two institutions have taken significant steps in the exchange of experience, training and political concert, seeking to contribute to peace, stability, democracy and sustainable development.
Piedade assured that the Angolan delegation to the IPU will continue fulfilling its role, having for that purpose requested the help from the secretary general Martin Chungong. He expressed the wish that the National Assembly adopts a more present stand from the point of view of political adaptation of the MPs and a more effective participation from the parliamentary administration, by learning, cooperating and executing tasks with the IPU staff.
Views
Quotations:
"Quite recently we approved the 2011 Account and today we are approving that for 2012. Unfortunately the debate did not go as we expected it to. In the exercise of democracy we must be prepared to listen to all points of view, even the non-coinciding ones."
"In fact, parliaments being an expression of the will of people, they should be more representative and closer to the citizen, but above all, more innovative and productive, making the laws more accessible and understandable, so that the common citizen can apply them, contributing for the improvement of the social well-being."
"We wait for the president to recover as quickly as possible."
Personality
Physical Characteristics:
He is of the Black race, average in height, and has an oval-shaped face