Agostinho Neto was the first President of the People’s Republic of Angola and a prominent writer. He is celebrated for helping his country gain independence from Portugal in 1975. As a revolutionary, he led a series of liberation activities to help Angola, attain freedom from the oppressive colonial Portuguese authorities. Determined and firm upon his desire to help his countrymen lead a free life, he got involved with politics secretly while pursuing his medical program in Portugal. He was arrested and served several years in prison while leading protests against the colonial rule. He joined the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). Apart from politics, he became a successful doctor and one of Angola’s highly acclaimed poets. His works were inspired by the quest for freedom and published in various Angolan and Portuguese reviews. It was all for these reasons that he is rightly known as ‘the father of modern Angola’. His birthday is a public holiday in Angola and celebrated as National Heroes Day.
