Carlos Veiga

Carlos Veiga
Prime Minister of Cape Verde
In office 4 April 1991 – 29 July 2000
President	António Mascarenhas Monteiro
Preceded by	Pedro Pires
Succeeded by	Gualberto do Rosário
Personal details
Born	Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga (1949-10-21) 21 October 1949 (age 75) Mindelo, Cape Verde
Political party	Movement for Democracy (1990–present)
Alma mater	University of Lisbon

Carlos Alberto Wahnon de Carvalho Veiga (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈkaɾluz alˈβɛɾtu waˈnõ dɨ kɐɾˈvaʎu ˈvɐjɣɐ]; born October 21, 1949, in Mindelo) is a Cape Verdean politician. He was Prime Minister of Cape Verde from April 4, 1991, to July 29, 2000.

Early life and education

Veiga was born in 1949 in Mindelo, São Vicente to Alfredo José de Carvalho Veiga and Maria Augusta Wahnon. He later attended school in Praia on the island of Santiago, and later, he graduated in 1971 from the University of Lisbon with a degree in law.^[1] Veiga's Jewish maternal grandfather immigrated to Cape Verde from Gibraltar in the 1840s. He is Cape Verde's first ambassador to Israel of Jewish descent.^[2]

Career

After briefly living in Angola from 1972 to 1974, Veiga returned to Cape Verde in 1975, the year that it became independent, to join the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC). During his time in the PAIGC, Veiga served the Ministry of Public Administration from 1975 to 1980 as a judge. After leaving the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde, he resumed his legal career and led the bar of Cape Verde from 1982 to 1986.^[1]

Politics

In 1985, Veiga was elected to the National Assembly as an independent candidate. Later, in 1989, Veiga was selected to become the president for the Movement for Democracy Party. After the 1991 elections, the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, Pedro Pires stepped down and Veiga took his place.^[1]

Veiga served as prime minister under President António Mascarenhas Monteiro, and resigned in July 2000 in order to stand as the MpD's candidate in the 2001 presidential election.^[3] He was succeeded as prime minister by Gualberto do Rosário.^[4]

In the 2001 presidential election, Veiga lost by 17 votes to Pedro Pires of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) in the second round of voting.^[5] He ran again for president in the 2006 presidential election, but he was defeated again by Pires.^[6] He ran for president a third time in the 2021 presidential election, and lost to José Maria Neves in the first round.^[7]

References

1. Rake, Alan (2001). African Leaders: Guiding the New Millennium. pp. 41–44. ISBN 0810840197. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
2. Skirble, Rosanne (October 29, 2018). "Rediscovering and Restoring Cape Verde's Jewish Heritage". Moment. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
3. Szajkowski, Bogdan, ed. (2005). Political Parties of the World (6th ed.). pp. 113–114. ISBN 0954381149.
4. A Political Chronology of Africa (1st ed.). Europa Publications. 2 September 2003. p. 67. ISBN 0203409957. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
5. "New president for Cape Verde", BBC News, March 6, 2001.
6. Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Louis Gates, Henry (2012). Dictionary of African Biography, Volume 6. p. 120. ISBN 9780195382075. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
7. "Opposition candidate Neves wins Cape Verde election". Reuters. 18 October 2021.

External links

• Official website for the legislative elections of 2011
• Biography of Carlos Veiga Archived 2005-12-25 at the Wayback Machine

Political offices
Preceded by Pedro Pires	Prime Minister of Cape Verde 1991–2000	Succeeded by Gualberto do Rosário