São Tomé and Príncipe

São Tomé and Príncipe, 1975 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

São Tomé and Príncipe is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. São Tomé and Príncipe achieved independence on 12 July 1975, choosing as the first president the MLSTP Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa. In 1990, São Tomé became one of the first African countries to undergo democratic reform, and changes to the constitution led to elections in 1991 that were non-violent, free, and transparent. In July 2003, the army seized power for one week, complaining of corruption and that forthcoming oil revenues would not be divided fairly.

Seat of power: São Tomé

Rulers

Manuel Pinto da Costa

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1975–1991

He served as the first president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1975 to 1991. Educated in East Germany, he is fluent in Portuguese and German.

Portrait of Manuel Pinto da Costa: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, file

Miguel Trovoada

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1991–2001

He was the first prime minister from 1975 to 1979 and the second president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 1991 to 2001. A former prime minister who had been in exile since 1986, he returned as an independent candidate and was elected president.

Portrait of Miguel Trovoada: European Commission, European Communities, CC BY 4.0, file

Leonel Mário d'Alva

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1991–1991

He was acting president from 4 March to 3 April 1991. He served as the prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 21 December 1974 until 12 July 1975, when the country gained independence from Portugal.

Portrait of Leonel Mário d'Alva: European Commission, European Communities, CC BY 4.0, file

Manuel Quintas de Almeida

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1995–1995

He was known for leading the 1995 São Tomé and Príncipe coup d'état. Quintas de Almeida and fellow second lieutenant Fernando Sousa Pontes launched the country's first military coup on 15 August 1995, overthrowing the democratically elected government of president Miguel Trovoada. He and his coconspirators agreed to return power to the civilian government on 22 August after negotiations mediated by Angola.

Fradique de Menezes

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 2001–2011

He was the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2001 to 2011. He was elected President in July 2001 with about 55.2% of the vote, defeating Manuel Pinto da Costa, who received about 40%.

Portrait of Fradique de Menezes: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson, Public domain, file

Fernando Pereira

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 2003–2003

He is a major in the military and a former Acting President of São Tomé and Príncipe. He led a coup against the elected government of Fradique de Menezes on July 16, 2003, while the latter was out of the country, and relinquished power a week later as part of an agreement.

Manuel Pinto da Costa

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 2011–2016

He again served as president from 2011 to 2016. In the July 2011 presidential election, he ran as an independent.

Portrait of Manuel Pinto da Costa: 總統府, CC BY 2.0, file

Evaristo Carvalho

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 2016–2021

He served as the fourth president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2016 to 2021. He was previously the prime minister of the country on two occasions.

Portrait of Evaristo Carvalho: Agência Brasil Fotografias, CC BY 2.0, file

Carlos Vila Nova

President of São Tomé and Príncipe, 2021 to today

He is the fifth and current president of São Tomé and Príncipe, since 2 October 2021. He served as Minister of Public Works and Natural Resources from 2010 to 2012 and as minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and the Environment from 2014 to 2018 in successive governments of Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada.

Portrait of Carlos Vila Nova: ITU Pictures, CC BY 2.0, file

Culture

Portuguese is the official and the de facto national language of São Tomé and Príncipe, with about 98.4% speaking it.
Tchiloli is a musical dance performance that tells a dramatic story. The danço-Congo is similarly a combination of music, dance, and theatre.
São Tomé is 50 km long and 30 km wide and the more mountainous of the two islands.
In 2012, UNESCO established the Island of Príncipe Biosphere Reserve under the Man and the Biosphere Programme.

Picture

São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe.

Image: Helena Van Eykeren from Gent, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.