Manuel Domingos Vicente (born 15 May 1956) is an Angolan politician who served as the second vice president of Angola between September 2012 and September 2017. He was chief executive officer of Sonangol, Angola's state oil company, from 1999 to 2012, and he briefly served in the government as the minister of State for Economic Coordination in 2012.
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Early life and education
Born at Sambizanga neighborhood in Luanda, his father was a shoemaker while his mother was a laundress. Vicente was raised by President José Eduardo dos Santos eldest sister, Isabel Eduardo dos Santos. He received primary and secondary education at the São Domingos Mission School. However, his studies was interrupted by financial problems and he worked as a locksmith and linotypist to help support the family. He earned an electronic engineering degree at the University of Angola (Agostinho Neto University) in 1983.
In his professional training, Vicente had his degrees Substation and Transmission Lines, Furnas / Brazil-1985 Business Management of Petroleum, London, 1991, Marketing of Petroleum and its Derivatives, London-1991 Economics of Oil Operations - Petroleum Institute, London, 1991, Risk Analysis and Decision in the Oil Industry (OGCI) - Calgary 1992 petroleum Economics - (OGCI) - London 1992, among others connected to the oil industry.
Career
Vicente worked as a chief engineer during the 1980s, and from 1987 to 1991 he headed the technical department of the Ministry of Oil. In 1991, he was appointed Deputy Director-General of Sonangol, the state oil company.
In 1999, President José Eduardo dos Santos appointed him as head of Sonangol. In that key post, he presided over the most important sector of the Angolan economy. During his time in charge of the company, oil production increased dramatically. He routinely traveled abroad, acquiring "an excellent reputation from the international business community".
In 1996 Vicente founded Banco Africano de Investimentos with Mario Palhares, the former deputy governor of Angola’s central bank and with Joaquim Costa David, previous head of Sonangol and later Minister of Finance. Using correspondent accounts with the U.S. subsidiary of HSBC and offshore companies, which HSBC did not raise any concerns about, this set up became a money laundry for the Angolan elites. In 2010, a US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs presented this as a case history.
In December 2009, Vicente was appointed a member of the Political Bureau of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party.
A September 2011 report in Novo Jornal claimed that dos Santos intended for Vicente to be his successor and was followed by a flurry of speculation. Vicente was, however, reappointed for another term at the head of Sonangol in December 2011, briefly tempering the speculation.
On 30 January 2012 dos Santos appointed Vicente as Minister of State for Economic Coordination; Francisco de Lemos José Maria succeeded Vicente at Sonangol. In line with earlier speculation, the move was generally interpreted by observers as suggesting that dos Santos was positioning Vicente as his eventual successor. It appeared that Vicente's government post would give him a great deal of authority in managing the economy, and it would bolster Vicente's credibility and experience given that he had previously only been involved in the oil industry. Nevertheless, it was believed that some other leading figures in the ruling party were skeptical about Vicente, given his relative inexperience in politics, and could be trying to resist the President's efforts to position him for the succession.
Personal life
Vicente is married to Marinela Vicente and has 2 children.
Awards
In November 2014, Vicente was distinguished with the "Sirius Award" by the multinational corporation Deloitte.