Angola’s former president dos Santos dies aged 79

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Former Angolan president Jose Eduardo dos Santos has died, according to a statement from government officials issued Friday. The ailing 79-year-old leader had remained on life support for days in a Barcelona hospital, and his death was not unexpected.



The statement from Angolan President João Lourenço called dos Santos “a statesman of great historical dimension, who ruled for many years with clarity” during oft-difficult times. Dos Santos served as Angola’s longtime leader from 1979 to 2017 before stepping aside.



Dos Santos had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit after recovering from COVID-19 and a reported fall. He was in an induced coma at the facility in Spain.


The dos Santos death followed controversy in recent days over discontinuing his life support measures, as well as charges of negligence from family members angry over his care.

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