Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, 1974 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa. Upon independence, declared in 1973 and recognised in 1974, the name of its capital, Bissau, was added to the country's name to prevent confusion with Guinea (formerly French Guinea). The first multi-party elections were held in 1994. Several successful military coups have since interrupted peaceful transfer of power, most recently the 2025 coup.
Seat of power: Bissau
Rulers
Luís Cabral
President of Guinea-Bissau, 1973–1980
He was a half-brother of Amílcar Cabral, with whom he co-founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) in 1956. He was the first President of Guinea-Bissau, serving until 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo Vieira deposed him.
Portrait of Luís Cabral: EC Audiovisual Center, CC BY 4.0, file
João Bernardo Vieira
President of Guinea-Bissau, 1980–1999
He seized power from President Luís Cabral in a military coup in 1980 and ruled as part of the Military Council of the Revolution until 1984, when civilian rule was returned. Opposition parties were allowed in 1991, and he won a multiparty presidential election in 1994. He was ousted at the end of the 1998 to 1999 civil war and went into exile.
Portrait of João Bernardo Vieira: Wilson Dias/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br, file
Carmen Pereira
President of Guinea-Bissau, 1984–1984
She served three days as Acting President in 1984, becoming the first woman in this role in Africa and the only one in Guinea-Bissau's history. Her political involvement began in 1962, when she joined the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC).
Malam Bacai Sanhá
President of Guinea-Bissau, 1999–2000
He served as acting President of Guinea-Bissau from 14 May 1999 to 17 February 2000, following the ouster of President João Bernardo Vieira. He was sworn in on 14 May with the promise of peace and an end to political persecution.
Portrait of Malam Bacai Sanhá: Roosewelt Pinheiro, CC BY 3.0 br, file
Ansumane Mané
President of Guinea-Bissau, 1999–1999
He was a military officer who led a 1998 uprising against the government of President João Bernardo Vieira, which caused a brief but bloody civil war. A peace agreement in November 1998 provided for a transitional national unity government and new elections.
Kumba Ialá
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2000–2003
He was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Balanta ethnic group and was President of the Social Renewal Party (PRS).
Henrique Rosa
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2003–2005
He served as the interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 28 September 2003 until 1 October 2005. His appointment came following a military coup that deposed the elected government of President Kumba Ialá on 14 September. The main goal of the Rosa-led caretaker government was to administer elections that would return the country to constitutional, democratic rule.
Portrait of Henrique Rosa: Ricardo Stuckert/PR, CC BY 3.0 br, file
Veríssimo Correia Seabra
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2003–2003
He was a general, known for leading a coup that deposed Kumba Ialá on September 14, 2003. His first act as head of the 32-member Military Committee for the Restoration of Constitutional and Democratic Order was to convene a meeting of political, religious, and civil society leaders.
João Bernardo Vieira
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2005–2009
He made a political comeback in 2005, winning that year's presidential election. Vieira was shot dead by soldiers on 2 March 2009, apparently in retaliation for a bomb blast at army headquarters that killed Guinea-Bissau's military chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie hours before.
Portrait of João Bernardo Vieira: Wilson Dias/ABr, CC BY 3.0 br, file
Malam Bacai Sanhá
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2009–2012
He was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009 until his death on 9 January 2012. He had placed second in the 2005 presidential election before winning the June to July 2009 presidential election.
Portrait of Malam Bacai Sanhá: Roosewelt Pinheiro, CC BY 3.0 br, file
Raimundo Pereira
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2009–2009
He was interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 3 March 2009 to 8 September 2009 and again in 2012. He was sworn in on 3 March 2009; according to the constitution, he had 60 days to organize a presidential election. He was ousted in a coup on 12 April 2012 and succeeded by Mamadu Ture Kuruma.
Portrait of Raimundo Pereira: Vince Crawley, Public domain, file
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Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2012–2014
He was a candidate in the abortive 2012 presidential election, placing third in the first round. Following the April 2012 military coup, he was designated as acting president as part of a transitional arrangement.
Portrait of Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo: Mamudo caloga, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
José Mário Vaz
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2014–2020
He served as president of Guinea-Bissau from 23 June 2014 to 27 February 2020. In the second round, on 18 May 2014, he received 61.9% of the vote. Vaz became the first elected president to complete his five-year mandate.
Portrait of José Mário Vaz: U.S. Department of State, Public domain, file
Umaro Sissoco Embaló
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2020–2025
He served as the sixth president of Guinea-Bissau from 2020 until he was deposed in a coup d'état in 2025. Embaló served as the 18th prime minister under President José Mário Vaz from 2016 to 2018. On 1 February 2022, there was an attempted coup d'état against Embaló.
Portrait of Umaro Sissoco Embaló: The White House, Public domain, file
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Horta Inta-A Na Man
President of Guinea-Bissau, 2025 to today
He has served as the transitional president of Guinea-Bissau since the 2025 coup d'état. On 26 November 2025, he participated in the coup that deposed President Umaro Sissoco Embaló. On 22 January 2026, he announced a decree authorising elections for the legislature and the presidency to be held on 6 December 2026.
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Culture
- About 2% of the population speaks Portuguese, the official language, as a first language, and 33% speak it as a second language. Guinea-Bissau Creole, a Portuguese-based creole, is the national language and also considered the language of unity.
- The nation is home to numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and multiple traditional faiths.
- Independence was unilaterally declared on 24 September 1973, which is now celebrated as the country's Independence Day, a public holiday. The country was formally recognized as independent on 10 September 1974.
Picture
The Bijagós Islands are a group of about 88 islands and islets located in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Guinea-Bissau.
Image: European Space Agency / CNES, Attribution, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.