Luanda - The Ministry of Planning (MINPLAN) on Friday, in Luanda Province, sent a note of condolence on the death of nationalist and Prime Minister Fernando de França Van-Dúnem, highlighting his achievements as head of this governmental department from 1990 to 1991.
França Van-Dúnem, former Speaker of the National Assembly, died on Wednesday in Lisbon, Portugal, aged 89, from an illness.
The document, signed by the minister of Planning, Victor Hugo Guilherme, notes that the deceased "left for this house a legacy of rigour, discipline and excellence".
To him, França Van-Dúnem lives on in the annals of institutional history and therefore occupies a aptive place in the gallery of honour and with that MINPLAN sends its deepest condolences to the bereaved family.
On the other hand, the Angolan Embassy in Nigeria stressed in a statement that Professor França Van-Dúnem was an intrepid Angolan academic and diplomat with an irreproachable career that honoured the country, adding that he was also a nationalist of unquestionable quality, a leader of his own convictions whose political and academic legacy produced a legion of lawmakers and diplomats that the country is proud of today.
"He was a model of national reconciliation until the conquest of definitive peace, always defending in Parliament the banner of the unity of Angolans without regard for party colours," reads the note.
The Angolan Embassy in Belgium recalls that the deceased was the second Angolan ambassador to Belgium, from 1979 to 1982, and that he left an indescribable mark on the community, due to his high level of professionalism and human relations.
He emphasised that Angola has lost an icon of history, a selfless nationalist, a renowned teacher and an undisputed defender of the "right" and duty of every Angolan citizen.
"We bow before his memory and sympathise with the pain of his family, friends and comrades in arms, offering our most sincere condolences. Eternal peace to his soul", reads the document ANGOP has received.
Born on 24 August 1934 in Luanda, Fernando José de França Van-Dúnem, a career diplomat, was Angola's ambassador to Portugal and Belgium, deputy Foreign minister of and minister of Justice.
He was also Prime Minister twice, between 1991 and 1992 and from 1996 to 1999, as well as speaker of the National Assembly from 1992 to 1996, as in addition to being a MP, he was a full professor at the Catholic University of Angola.
From 1982 to 1986, he was Angola's ambassador to Portugal and Spain, after having held the same positions in Belgium, the Netherlands and the European Economic Community, now the European Union, between 1979 and 1982.
He was vice-president of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), a member of the African Parliament and responsible for its administration in Addis Ababa.
França Van-Dúnem was first deputy speaker of the Pan-African Parliament.
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