Luís Cabral

Luis de Almeida Cabral was born on April 11, 1931, in Bissau, the younger half-brother of revolutionary visionary Amilcar Cabral. Initially working as an accountant for the Companhia Uniao Fabril, he helped organize the historic 1959 Pidjiguiti dockworkers strike and co-founded the PAIGC.

Following Amilcar Cabral's tragic assassination in January 1973, Luis Cabral assumed leadership of the liberation movement. On September 24, 1973, at Madina do Boe, he solemnly proclaimed the independent Republic of Guinea-Bissau, becoming its first President, a proclamation recognized by over eighty nations before Portugal recognized independence following the Carnation Revolution. Overthrown in a 1980 military coup, he spent later years in exile in Cape Verde and Portugal.