Source: National Archives & Historic Records of Angola
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇦🇴 Angola • 0 views

Holden Roberto 🇦🇴

Alvaro Holden Roberto (Known as "Onkwa Roberto")
Founder of FNLA, President of GRAE, Anti-Colonial Leader
Born 1923-01-12 🇦🇴 M'banza-Kongo, Angola
Passed Away 2007-08-02 Luanda, Angola
Lifespan 84 years old
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Notice / Correction
"The dignity of our ancestors demands the total expulsion of colonialism from every inch of African soil."

Archival Overview

Pioneering Angolan liberation leader who founded the FNLA, formed the Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile (GRAE), and launched the armed struggle in northern Angola in 1961.

Biographical Record

Alvaro Holden Roberto was born on January 12, 1923, in M'banza-Kongo, capital of the ancient Kingdom of Kongo. Educated in British Baptist mission schools in Leopoldville, he became an outspoken champion of northern Angolan self-determination.

In 1958, Roberto attended the All-African Peoples' Conference in Accra, befriending Frantz Fanon and Patrice Lumumba. He founded the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA) and its military arm, the ELNA, initiating armed attacks against Portuguese colonial estates in March 1961. In 1962, he formed the Revolutionary Government of Angola in Exile (GRAE), recognized by the OAU. Following independence and the civil war, he returned to Luanda as a member of parliament.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
M'banza-Kongo Royal Cemetery
M'banza-Kongo, Angola
GPS: -6.2667, 14.2333
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