"I lost a friend, for me it is devastating news, especially because he is a person with whom I had many common moments on the highest platforms of our public functions", said, this Wednesday, Marcolino Moco in statements to Lusa.
According to the former ruler, Fernando José França Van-Dúnem, politician and former ambassador of Angola to Portugal who died this Wednesday, a victim of illness, he was a human and very thoughtful figure.
"Remember, above all, the human figure that was França Van-Dúnem, an individual who was always very calm, thoughtful, very modest, in a country where we see a lot of greed, a lot of ambition, but França [Van-Dúnem] was the opposite of these forms that reach the regrettable", he highlighted.
For Marcolino Moco, who said he had spent several moments with França Van-Dúnem in politics and also in academia, he was one of the few people who "didn't let himself be dazzled by political life and who always cared much more about his professional life".
"A huge passion for academic life and, also, as an academic I am doubly moved", he expressed.
He also argued that Angola should pay a greater tribute to the figure of França Van-Dúnem: "There must be something that definitely reminds us of França for its humanism, its simplicity, its modesty, its eternal smile, somewhat naughty and playful, but always human and friend", he noted.
Former prime minister, deputy and former ambassador to Portugal Fernando José de França Van-Dúnem died this Wednesday in Portugal, aged 89, a victim of illness, diplomatic and parliamentary sources told Lusa.
In a note of condolence sent to the Lusa agency, the Angolan ambassador to Portugal, Maria de Jesus Ferreira, expressed regret at the death of França Van-Dúnem, who she considered "a tireless and unbreakable defender of the best nationalist values and the well-being of the people".
França Van-Dúnem, born on August 24, 1934, was prime minister twice, between 1991 and 1992 and from 1996 to 1999, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs and minister of Justice.
The former deputy of the MPLA parliamentary group, he presided over the National Assembly from 1992 to 1996 and was also a full professor at the Catholic University of Angola.
