Angolan political ephemera collection

Collection

Identifier: MSS 283 large

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

These are items produced by MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola) and UNITA (Uniao Nacional para a Independencia Total de Angola) for 2012 National Assembly election—only the third since independence. Materials include: 5 badges, 3 ball caps, 1 bracelet, 4 flags, 1 key chain, 1 musical bottle opener, 1 pen, 1 pendant, 1 plastic bag, 1 polo shirt, 1 sun hat, 3 t-shirts, 1 tie clip, 1 tote bag, 1 umbrella, and 1 USB drive.

Dates

Creation: 2012

Creator

União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (Organization)
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the authors of the items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. For photocopy and duplication requests, please contact the Stephen O. Murray and Keelung Hong Special Collections, Michigan State University Libraries.

Biographical / Historical

The Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA), founded in 1956, merged two nationalist organizations and was centred in the country’s capital city of Luanda. From 1962 it was led by Agostinho Neto, who eventually became Angola’s first president. It fought the Portuguese for the independence of Angola in cooperation, but often in conflict, with the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The MPLA declared the People’s Republic of Angola in November 1975, which was not recognized by all governments. The MPLA, supported by Cuba and the Soviet Union, and UNITA, supported by South Africa and the United States, continued to fight for control of the country; the FNLA pulled out of the struggle in the late 1970s. The MPLA was the only legal party of Angola until multiparty elections were held in 1992. UNITA continued to battle Angolan government forces until early in 2002. An agreement to end the hostilities was signed in April 2002. The MPLA was victorious in the multiparty parliamentary elections held on Sept. 5–6, 2008, the first since 1992.