In a message of condolence, the Political Bureau of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), highlighted the exemplary role of the nationalist and "front-line combatant of the anti-colonial struggle".
According to the note, the physical disappearance of 'Beto' Van-Dúnem - as he was known - "represents a hard blow to actions aimed at the preservation of history and collective memory, and therefore urgent disclosure of the political legacy of all compatriots involved in the struggle that led to the birth of Angola as a free and sovereign country.
'Beto' Van-Dúnem, among the various high responsibility functions he performed at the level of the party and the central apparatus of the state, was Minister of Commerce between 1978 and 1981, member of the National Assembly, in addition to having been at the head of the Mass Organization Department of MPLA.
