Powersharing Transitional Government – 1998
1998
The Abuja Peace Agreement, signed on 1 November 1998, provided for the establishment of a national unity government. Immediately after the signing of the accord, the acting foreign minister declared that the national unity government would include representatives from the military junta. The rebel leaders were given the option to join the government after leaving active duty or to recommend representatives from civil society.1 On November 16, the president started his consultations with various political parties on the peace accord’s provision of establishing a unity government.2
On 4 December 1998, President João Bernardo Vieira officially appointed Francisco Fadul, an advisor to the rebel leader Gen. Mame, as the country’s new prime minister.3 However, in December Fadul was quoted as saying that he would not allow his new government to be sworn in until all foreign troops who had supported Vieira against rebel leader Gen. Ansumane Mane had left the country.4 After the presidential appointment of Fadul, the rebels and the government signed a Final Communiqué of the Lome Meeting on the Peace Process in Bissau on 15 December 1998 that created the structure of the unity government and the distribution of positions between the government and the rebels.
According to the communiqué, the following ministries were allocated to the president and his loyalists:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
Ministry of Justice and Labour
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources
Ministry of Education, Youth, Culture and Sports
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
Secretariat of State for Energy, National Resources and Environment
Secretariat of State for Transport and Communications
Secretariat of State for Administrative Reform and Public Service
The following ministries were said to be provided to the rebel side or Self-Proclaimed Military Junta:
Ministry of Defense and for Freedom Fighters of the Country
Ministry of Internal Administration
Ministry of Economy and Finance
Ministry of Social Welfare
Secretariat of State for the Treasury
Secretariat of State for Commerce, Industry, Tourism, Arts and Crafts
Secretariat of State for Social Communication and Parliamentary Affairs
Secretariat of State for Freedom Fighters of the Country
- “Guinea-Bissau: Minister Says Rebels Welcome to Join National Unity Government,” BBC Monitoring Africa, November 2, 1998.
- “Guinea-Bissau president in consultations for unity government,” Agence France Presse, November 16, 1998.
- “Guinea-Bissau,” Keesing’s Record of World Events 45 (January 1999): 42708; “Guinea-Bissau: Gen Mane’s Aide Appointed New Prime Minister,” BBC Monitoring Africa, December 1998.
- “Guinea-Bissau.”