MOZAMBIQUE: BIO DATA ON SOME MEMBERS OF FRELIMO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 001553

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SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: BIO DATA ON SOME MEMBERS OF FRELIMO
POLITICAL COMMISSION

Ref: Maputo 1497

MAPUTO 00001553 001.2 OF 002



1. This cable provides biographical information on 10 of the
17 members of the Political Commission, the highest body of
Mozambique's ruling political party, FRELIMO (we have
provided bio information on the other members in previous
reporting). Sources used include official government
biographies, local media reports, and information obtained
from Embassy contacts. In the list below an (H) before the
name denotes a holdover from the previous political
commission, while an (N) indicates a newly elected member.

Members:

- (H) Manuel Tome, FRELIMO party whip
- (H) Eduardo Mulembwe, Speaker of the National Assembly
- (H) Alberto Chipande, former Defense Minister
- (H) Eneas Comiche, Mayor of Maputo
- (H) Margarida Talapa, FRELIMO deputy whip
- (H) Veronica Macamo, first Vice-President of the National
Assembly
- (N) Raimundo Pachinuapa, veteran of the independence
struggle
- (N) Teodoro Waty, former speaker of the Maputo Municipal
Assembly
- (N) Paulina Mateus, Secretary General of the Mozambican
Women's Organization
- (N) Conceita Sortane, Secretary for Training and Cadres


MANUEL TOME:


2. Manuel Tome is the FRELIMO party whip in the National
Assembly and served as FRELIMO secretary general from 1997-

2002. Although not part of the generation that fought for
independence, Tome has risen quickly through the FRELIMO
party ranks, which is due partly to his years as director
general of state-owned Radio Mozambique and subsequently as
secretary general of the Mozambican Association of

SIPDIS
Journalists. Tome was born in 1947 and is a journalist by
profession.


EDUARDO MULEMBWE:


3. Eduardo Mulembwe has been the Speaker of the National
Assembly since 1994, and in this capacity has the
constitutional role of replacing the head of state when the
latter is traveling or incapacitated. Before this Mulembwe
served as Attorney General for several years. He gained
prominence for promising to disclose the names of high-
ranking political figures involved in corruption, although
he ultimately did not release any information.


ALBERTO CHIPANDE:


4. Alberto Chipande is one of the most senior members of
FRELIMO, perhaps outranked in power and prestige only by
President Guebuza and former President Chissano. Chipande is
a member of the Makonde tribe, which played a significant
role in the independence struggle. FRELIMO credits Chipande
with firing the gunshots that killed a Portuguese official
in 1964, an event which marked the beginning of the war of
independence. He was Minister of Defense during the Samora
Machel era. He is currently a deputy in the National
Assembly and owner of several businesses in his home
province of Cabo Delgado. Chipande was born in 1939 in
Mueda, Cabo Delgado Province.


ENEAS COMICHE:


5. Eneas Comiche is currently the mayor of Maputo city. He
is very close to Chissano, during whose mandate he served
both as governor of the Central Bank and Minister of
Finance. Comiche is an economist by profession and studied
at the University of Porto in Portugal. He was born in 1939
in Moma, Nampula Province.


MARGARIDA TALAPA:


6. Margarida Talapa is a deputy in the the National Assembly
and FRELIMO's deputy party whip. While she is not part of
the generation that fought for independence, she is one of

MAPUTO 00001553 002.2 OF 002


the most prominent female politicians in the country and has
risen through the party ranks primarily through her efforts
to mobilize voters in Nampula, the country's most populous
province. Talapa was born in Nampula Province.


VERONICA MACAMO:


7. Veronica Macamo serves as first Vice-President of the the
National Assembly, where she has been a deputy since 1994.
Macamo is an attorney by profession and she is also
chairwoman of the National Tourism Fund. She was born in
Gaza Province.


RAIMUNDO PACHINUAPA:


8. Raimundo Pachinuapa served as governor of Cabo Delgado
Province during the Samora Machel era. During the Chissano
presidency, Pachinaupa was the country's inspector general.
Pachinuapa belongs to the Makonde tribe and is from Cabo
Delgado Province.


TEODORO WATY:


9. Teodoro Waty is an influential lawyer in Maputo. From
1998 to 2003, he served as president of the Maputo Municipal
Assembly. Waty is also a former administrator of the
People's Development Bank and chairman of the Polana Casino
Board of Directors. He is a close ally of Chissano -- his
wife worked for some time as Chissano's private secretary.
Waty is from Maputo city.


PAULINA MATEUS:


10. Paulina Mateus is the secretary general of the
Mozambican Women's Organization, the women's wing of
FRELIMO, a position she has held since 1996. From 1981-1988,
she was a deputy in the Beira Municipal Assembly. Mateus was
born in March 1952 in Nachingwea, Tanzania.


CONCEITA SORTANE:


11. Conceita Sortane has served as FRELIMO's secretary for
training and cadres since 2002. Prior to this, Sortane was a
practicing psychologist. She is also one of the few people
from Zambezia (a RENAMO stronghold) to have a position of
prominence within FRELIMO.

Dudley