Angola’s former President, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is dead, the Angolan presidency said on Facebook on Friday.
Santos, who ruled Africa’s second-biggest oil producer for nearly four decades, died at age 79.
The former president died at 11:10 am Spanish time at the Barcelona Teknon clinic following a prolonged illness, the presidency said.
Dos Santos had been receiving medical treatment since 2019.
Portuguese news agency Lusa reported last month that the former president was admitted to an intensive care unit at a clinic in Barcelona.
One of Africa’s longest-serving leaders, dos Santos stepped down five years ago. His rule was marked by a brutal civil war lasting nearly three decades against rebels – which he won in 2002.
He was replaced in 2017 by President Joao Lourenco, who despite being from the incumbent’s People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola, swiftly moved to probe allegations of multi-billion dollar corruption during the dos Santos era, targeting the former leader’s children.