Background
He was born in 1931, at Lourenco Marques.
He was born in 1931, at Lourenco Marques.
Educated in Lisbon, graduating from the university, and then continued his studies in Paris.
As a mild-mannered, methodical nationalist with administrative talent, he was appointed secretary-general of the Conferencia das Organizacoes Nacional
istas das Colonias Portuguesas (CONCP) in April 1961 with headquarters at Rabat, Morocco. In July 1961 he flew to Dar es Salaam as a mediator when Adelino Gwanbe was ordered out of Tanzania for a statement that Mozambique would be liberated with the help of African states and their 70,000 recruits trained for invasion. He issued a mollifying statement which avoided any hint of an invasion threat.
In June 1962 he was one of the essential men who brought about the merger of three parties into FREL1MO. He helped develop the organisation which enabled FREL1MO to launch armed struggle in September 1964. In December 1965 as secretary for external affairs he represented FRELIMO at the OAU ministerial meeting at Nairobi. He made a point of travelling to many countries in Europe—East and West—to build up support for the liberation movement.
On July 1, 1970, he gained recognition from the Pope when he was received at the Vatican along with the late Amilcar Cabral of Portuguese Guinea and Agostinho Neto of Angola and was given a copy of the papal encyclical Populorum Progressio on the problems of the under-developed world. The following year he received the Lenin Centenary Medal. In June 1972 he went to the OAU summit meeting at Rabat.