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Front: Joaquim Alberto Chissano (1939-), President of Mozambique 1986-2005

Chissano, born in Mozambique, was involved in the guerrilla war against Portugal in the 1960s. When the country gained independence in 1975, Major General Chissano was appointed Foreign Minister of Mozambique. He became President of the country in 1986, after President Samora Machel was killed in an aircraft accident in South Africa. Chissano won multi-party elections in 1994 and again in 1999. He chose not to run for another term in the elections of 2004.

Back: Farm tractor in field, and high rise city view in background

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Front: Samora Moises Machel (1933-1986), President of Mozambique 1975-1986

Machel was born to a poor peasant family. He attended Catholic school and studied to become a nurse.

Machel was attracted to Marxist ideals. He joined the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) which was dedicated to creating an independent Mozambique. He received military training in 1963 elsewhere in Africa, and returned in 1964 to lead FRELIMO's first guerrilla attack against the Portuguese in northern Mozambique. By 1970, Machel had become commander-in-chief of the FRELIMO army. When the Portuguese left Mozambique in 1974, Machel's revolutionary government took over and he became independent Mozambique's first president in 1975. He died in 1986 when his presidential aircraft crashed.

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