Joaquim Chissano
Encyclopedia
Joaquim Alberto Chissano (born 22 October 1939) served as the second President of Mozambique
for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman
and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations
, to be an envoy
or negotiator
. He currently chairs the Joaquim Chissano Foundation and the Forum of Former African Heads of State and Government. In 2007, he was awarded the inaugural Prize for Achievement in African Leadership by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
.
, Gaza Province
of the Portuguese colony
of Mozambique (then called Portuguese East Africa
). Chissano was the first black
student to attend the only high school
in the colony, Liceu Salazar
in Lourenço Marques (present day Maputo
). He became a member, and subsequently the leader of the Mozambican "African Secondary School Students' Organisation" (NESAM).
After leaving secondary school, he went to Portugal to study medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon. Because of Chissano's political activism, his studies came to an end. He fled to Tanzania
via France.
He went on to fight in the Mozambican War of Independence
against the Portuguese
colonial government and the authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo, by then engaged in a multi-front colonial war
. By the time that Mozambique finally achieved its independence in 1975 as a result of the liberation struggle
and the Carnation Revolution
in Portugal, Chissano had risen to the rank of major-general.
The new president of Mozambique, Samora Machel
, appointed him foreign minister
. Chissano served in this position for the next eleven years. In 1974, he participated in the Lusaka talks, which paved the way for the independence of Mozambique, and subsequently was elected Prime Minister of the Transitional Government.
After the Mozambican Civil War
, during which the Renamo rebels become a regular political party, Chissano won multi-party elections in 1994 and again in 1999. In 1999, he defeated the former rebel leader, Afonso Dhlakama
, by 52.3% to 47.7%. Chissano served as Chairperson of the
African Union
from July 2003 to July 2004.
Chissano chose not to run for a third term in the elections of 2004, although the constitution would have allowed him to do so. Frelimo selected Armando Guebuza
as its candidate, who defeated Dhlakama by a larger margin of votes than in 1999.
Chissano left office at the end of his term in February 2005.
technique. Two years later, he ordered all military and police recruits to learn and practice the technique. In addition, 16,000 soldiers and 30,000 civilians were taught the more advanced technique of Yogic Flying. Chissano said: "First I started the practice of Transcendental Meditation myself, then introduced the practice to my close family, my cabinet of ministers, my government officers and my military. The result has been political peace and balance in nature in my country." Chissano received an honorary degree from the Maharishi Vedic University in MERU, Holland
in 1993. His son and several children of his cabinet members received scholarships to Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Chissano negotiated an agreement that would give control of 49000000 acres (19,829,614 ha) of land in Mozambique, one quarter of the area of the country, to the Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development Project
, which would receive royalties and 80% of the future profits. The plan was dropped when it received negative publicity.
Kofi Annan
appointed Chissano the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General
to Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan, to resolve the conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army
(LRA). Chissano worked with the United Nations
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(then led by Eliane Duthoit
), and with the International Criminal Court
(ICC). It indicted LRA leader Joseph Kony
and four other senior members of the LRA.
On March 22, 2010, Chissano wrote an article on The Huffington Post
about water scarcity in Africa.
-based businessman, linked to two high-profile murders in Mozambique, both of which are widely reported to have occurred because of their victims' anti-corruption activities.
On 11 May 2006, AIM reported that the Mozambican public prosecutor's office had charged Nyimpine Chissano of "joint moral authorship" of the murder of Carlos Cardoso
. AIM also quoted a report in the Mozambican journal Zambeze that a Maputo prosecutor, Fernando Canana, had issued an arrest warrant for Nyimpine Chissano.
Heads of state of Mozambique
-Presidents of Mozambique :-Affiliations:FRELIMO = Frente de Libertação de Moçambique...
for nineteen years from 6 November 1986 until 2 February 2005. Since stepping down as president, Chissano has become an elder statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and is called upon by international bodies, such as the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
, to be an envoy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
or negotiator
Negotiation
Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, intended to reach an understanding, resolve point of difference, or gain advantage in outcome of dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or collective advantage, to craft outcomes to satisfy...
. He currently chairs the Joaquim Chissano Foundation and the Forum of Former African Heads of State and Government. In 2007, he was awarded the inaugural Prize for Achievement in African Leadership by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Mo Ibrahim Foundation
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was launched in October 2006 to support good governance and great leadership in Africa.It was founded by Dr.Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese philanthropist and businessman who founded telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998....
.
Early life
Joaquim Chissano was born in the remote village of Malehice, Chibuto districtChibuto
Chibuto is a city located in the province of Gaza in Mozambique. It is the principal city of Chibuto District and is served by Chibuto Airport.-References:...
, Gaza Province
Gaza Province
Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km² and a population of 1,333,106 .Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is to the east, Manica Province to the north, Maputo Province to the south, South Africa to the west, and Zimbabwe to the...
of the Portuguese colony
Portuguese Empire
The Portuguese Empire , also known as the Portuguese Overseas Empire or the Portuguese Colonial Empire , was the first global empire in history...
of Mozambique (then called Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
). Chissano was the first black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
student to attend the only high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the colony, Liceu Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
in Lourenço Marques (present day Maputo
Maputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
). He became a member, and subsequently the leader of the Mozambican "African Secondary School Students' Organisation" (NESAM).
After leaving secondary school, he went to Portugal to study medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon. Because of Chissano's political activism, his studies came to an end. He fled to Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
via France.
Freedom fighter
Joaquim Chissano represented Frelimo, the Mozambique independence movement, in Paris during the 1960s. He was known there as a soft-spoken diplomat who worked to reconcile radical and moderate Marxist factions of the Frelimo party.He went on to fight in the Mozambican War of Independence
Mozambican War of Independence
The Mozambican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the guerrilla forces of the Mozambique Liberation Front or FRELIMO , and Portugal...
against the Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
colonial government and the authoritarian regime of the Estado Novo, by then engaged in a multi-front colonial war
Portuguese Colonial War
The Portuguese Colonial War , also known in Portugal as the Overseas War or in the former colonies as the War of liberation , was fought between Portugal's military and the emerging nationalist movements in Portugal's African colonies between 1961 and 1974, when the Portuguese regime was...
. By the time that Mozambique finally achieved its independence in 1975 as a result of the liberation struggle
War of liberation
A War of liberation is a conflict which is primarily intended to bring freedom or independence to a nation or group. Examples might include a war to overthrow a colonial power, or to remove a dictator from power. Such wars are often unconventional...
and the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
in Portugal, Chissano had risen to the rank of major-general.
The new president of Mozambique, Samora Machel
Samora Machel
Samora Moisés Machel was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique...
, appointed him foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
. Chissano served in this position for the next eleven years. In 1974, he participated in the Lusaka talks, which paved the way for the independence of Mozambique, and subsequently was elected Prime Minister of the Transitional Government.
President
Joaquim Chissano succeeded to the presidency in 1986 when Samora Machel's presidential aircraft crashed in mountainous terrain in South Africa.After the Mozambican Civil War
Mozambican Civil War
The Mozambican Civil War began in 1977, two years after the end of the war of independence. The ruling party, Front for Liberation of Mozambique , was violently opposed from 1977 by the Rhodesian- and South African-funded Mozambique Resistance Movement...
, during which the Renamo rebels become a regular political party, Chissano won multi-party elections in 1994 and again in 1999. In 1999, he defeated the former rebel leader, Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Dhlakama
Afonso Marceta Macacho Dhlakama is a Mozambican politician and the leader of RENAMO, an anti-communist guerrilla organization that fought the FRELIMO government in the Mozambican Civil War before signing a peace agreement and becoming an opposition political party in the early 1990s.Dhlakama was...
, by 52.3% to 47.7%. Chissano served as Chairperson of the
Chairperson of the African Union
The African Union Chairman is chosen by the Assembly, which consists of the heads of state of member countries, to serve a 1-year term.- List of Chairmen:...
African Union
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
from July 2003 to July 2004.
Chissano chose not to run for a third term in the elections of 2004, although the constitution would have allowed him to do so. Frelimo selected Armando Guebuza
Armando Guebuza
Armando Emílio Guebuza is a Mozambican politician and the President of Mozambique since 2005.- Career :Armando Emílio Guebuza was born in 20 January 1943 in Portuguese East Africa...
as its candidate, who defeated Dhlakama by a larger margin of votes than in 1999.
Chissano left office at the end of his term in February 2005.
Transcendental Meditation
In 1992, Joaquim Chissano learnt the Transcendental MeditationTranscendental Meditation technique
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a specific form of mantra meditation often referred to as Transcendental Meditation. It was introduced in India in 1955 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi...
technique. Two years later, he ordered all military and police recruits to learn and practice the technique. In addition, 16,000 soldiers and 30,000 civilians were taught the more advanced technique of Yogic Flying. Chissano said: "First I started the practice of Transcendental Meditation myself, then introduced the practice to my close family, my cabinet of ministers, my government officers and my military. The result has been political peace and balance in nature in my country." Chissano received an honorary degree from the Maharishi Vedic University in MERU, Holland
MERU, Holland
MERU, Holland, is a residential and office complex which includes the residence of the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a capital of the Global Country of World Peace, a campus of Maharishi European Research University , and other institutions of the Transcendental Meditation movement. It occupies the...
in 1993. His son and several children of his cabinet members received scholarships to Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. Chissano negotiated an agreement that would give control of 49000000 acres (19,829,614 ha) of land in Mozambique, one quarter of the area of the country, to the Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development Project
Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development
Maharishi Heaven on Earth Development Corp. is a for-profit real estate developer associated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement...
, which would receive royalties and 80% of the future profits. The plan was dropped when it received negative publicity.
Retirement
On 4 December 2006, the United Nations Secretary-GeneralUnited Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
appointed Chissano the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General
Special Envoy of the Secretary-General
A Special Envoy of the Secretary-General is a senior United Nations official appointed by the United Nations Secretary-General to deal with a set of specific issues....
to Northern Uganda and Southern Sudan, to resolve the conflict with the Lord's Resistance Army
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla campaign waged since 1987 by the Lord's Resistance Army rebel group, operating mainly in northern Uganda, but also in South Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...
(LRA). Chissano worked with the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Ocha
Ocha is a genus of moth in the family Lasiocampidae....
(then led by Eliane Duthoit
Eliane Duthoit
Éliane Duthoit , a French citizen, is a senior United Nations official at the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs .- Career overview :...
), and with the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
(ICC). It indicted LRA leader Joseph Kony
Joseph Kony
Joseph Kony is an African terrorist who is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army , a guerrilla group that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government based on the Ten Commandments in Uganda...
and four other senior members of the LRA.
Legacy and honors
- 2007, On Chissano's 68th birthday, he was awarded the inaugural $5 million Prize for Achievement in African Leadership awarded by the Mo Ibrahim FoundationMo Ibrahim FoundationThe Mo Ibrahim Foundation was launched in October 2006 to support good governance and great leadership in Africa.It was founded by Dr.Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese philanthropist and businessman who founded telecommunications company Celtel International in 1998....
. It is intended to be given annually to a former African leader who has shown good governance. The prize of five million dollars is spread over the course of ten years, plus $200,000 per annum subsequently, and is believed in total value larger than the Nobel PrizeNobel PrizeThe Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
.
- He is an Eminent Member of the Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation and a Member of the Club of MadridClub of MadridThe Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 80 former Presidents and Prime Ministers from 56 countries, the Club de Madrid is the world’s largest forum of former Heads of State and Government.Among...
.
On March 22, 2010, Chissano wrote an article on The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
about water scarcity in Africa.
Nyimpine Chissano
Chissano is the eldest son of Joaquim Chissano, a MaputoMaputo
Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...
-based businessman, linked to two high-profile murders in Mozambique, both of which are widely reported to have occurred because of their victims' anti-corruption activities.
On 11 May 2006, AIM reported that the Mozambican public prosecutor's office had charged Nyimpine Chissano of "joint moral authorship" of the murder of Carlos Cardoso
Carlos Cardoso
Carlos Cardoso was a Mozambican journalist. His murder in 2000 followed his newspaper's investigation into corruption in the privatisation of Mozambique's biggest bank.-Early life:...
. AIM also quoted a report in the Mozambican journal Zambeze that a Maputo prosecutor, Fernando Canana, had issued an arrest warrant for Nyimpine Chissano.
External links
- Audio: "Chissano discusses the need for debt relief", BBC, 4 March, 2000
- "Joaquim Chissano: Democrat among the despots", The Independent.