Luanda - The vice-president of the ruling MPLA, Luísa Damião, has expressed her deep emotion and sorrow at the death of the former ANGOP journalist Mário Pedro Segundo on Friday in Luanda, victim of illness.
According to a message of condolence sent to ANGOP, the news caused a huge sense of loss and sadness at the premature departure of an “intrepid journalist”.
“At this difficult time, words are insufficient to console and comfort the irreparable loss of a loved one, especially when it comes to an extreme father, husband and grandfather with uncommon human qualities,” the note reads.
Mário Pedro, the journalist, will be remembered as a dedicated professional with a refined journalistic nose, who always carried out his profession ethically, with endless memories of a lifetime of service to Angolan journalism.
Mário Pedro, Luisa Damião said, was an outstanding professional who always fulfilled the different missions entrusted to him with great responsibility, with an extraordinary sense of responsibility and a high sense of duty.
According to the party leader, Mário Pedro marked the history of Angolan journalism with a remarkable and inspiring career, and left a valuable legacy to new generations of journalists.
Biographical data
Born on December 21, 1957, in the municipality of Dande, Bengo province, Mário Pedro Segundo was the son of Tiago Pedro Segundo and Maria Simão António Segundo, both deceased. He was married to Domingas João da Silva Pedro and left four children.
A practicing Catholic, he lived from childhood to adulthood in the Sambizanga district of Luanda, where he attended and finished primary school.
He attended preparatory school at the then Colégio Vasco da Gama, in downtown Luanda, and secondary school at the then Escola Industrial de Luanda, in 1977. He graduated from the Faculty of Sciences at Agostinho Neto University.
The former journalist joined the ANGOP staff as a trainee in February 1978. He further interrupted his probation period at the agency, over an awarded scholarship for training in Petroleum Engineering at the Higher Technical Institute of Petroleum and Gas in Baku (Azerbaijan) , resuming three years later, after being forced to return to the country due to health issues.
Reintegrated into ANGOP's staff, he resumed his professional career, rising through the various ranks, in the most different desks, having also served as ANGOP's deputy delegate in Portugal, National Editor-in-Chief, International Editor-in-Chief, political editor and head of the Africa Division in the information area.
As a reporter, he covered various events, both inside and outside the country, accompanying ministerial and presidential delegations on state visits and summits, such as those of the then “Front Line”, SADCC (predecessor of SADC), OAU (now AU) and UN.
Mário Pedro Segundo was a founding member of the Union of Angolan Journalists (UJA). VIC/TED/AMP
