Declaration
Independence of São Tomé and Príncipe, 1975
São Tomé and Príncipe became independent from Portugal on 12 July 1975, following negotiations in Algiers between Portugal and the MLSTP and a period of transitional government; MLSTP Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa became the country's first President.
What happened
The Committee for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe formed in exile around 1960 and was renamed the Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe (MLSTP) in 1972.[1] Following Portugal's April 1974 revolution, Portuguese representatives met the MLSTP in Algiers, signing an agreement on 25 November 1974 recognising the MLSTP as the sole legitimate representative of the people and providing for colonial rule to end via a transitional government and elections to a constituent assembly.[1] According to the scholarly reference work Encyclopedia of African History, after that transitional government São Tomé and Príncipe became independent on 12 July 1975, with MLSTP Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa becoming the country's first President.[2]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The Committee for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe formed in exile around 1960 and was renamed the Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe (MLSTP) in 1972. On 25 November 1974, Portugal and the MLSTP signed the Algiers Agreement, recognising the MLSTP as the sole legitimate representative of the people and providing for colonial rule to end via a transitional government and elections to a constituent assembly.
- History of São Tomé and Príncipe (Wikipedia) link, Nationalist movements and Independence sections. Source record
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2.
Claim: Following negotiations between Portugal and the MLSTP at Algiers in November 1974 and a period of transitional government, São Tomé and Príncipe became independent from Portugal on 12 July 1975, with MLSTP Secretary General Manuel Pinto da Costa becoming the country's first President.
- Shillington, Kevin, Encyclopedia of African History (Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005) , São Tomé and Príncipe entry. Source record