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Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (Angola)

(Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola)

Last modified: 2020-01-04 by bruce berry
Keywords: angola | mpla |
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[Angola - MPLA] image by Antonio Martins, 18 June 1997 See also:

Movimento Popular da Libertação de Angola (MPLA)

The MPLA was founded in 1956 as a Marxist party with a strong following in the Angolan capital, Luanda. This was the be crucial in the MPLA's seizure of power in 1975. It was first led by Agostinio Neto until his death and now by Eduardo dos Santos, who is still the President of Angola. The MPLA commenced military operations against the Portuguese in 1963. The flag is divided horizontally, red over black, with a yellow star in the centre. It is said that this flag was adapted from that of the Viet Cong in Vietnam, whose flag was red over blue with the same yellow star. The change of colour from blue to black in the MPLA flag is a fairly obvious adaptation to African symbolism. In the mid 1980s, the new regime in Burkina Faso adopted a very similar flag, for similar reasons, in which the blue/black of the VC/MPLA flags became green. The MPLA flag strongly influenced the flag of what became the People's Republic of Angola at independence. The MPLA remains the ruling party in Angola, having officially renounced both single party rule and Marxism in the early 1990s.
Stuart Notholt, 10 Jan 1996

The MPLA-PT (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola - Partido do Trabalho, that is, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - Labor Party), is the ruling party with 129 MPs in the Angolan Parliament (total number: 227). It's flag is the well-known red and black horizontal bicolour with a yellow star in the centre. 
Jorge Candeias, 28 Nov 2001

Angola Livre

image sent by Jason Saber, 04 Sept 2019

This image was shown on the MPLA Facebook page as being the flag it used in 1961 and 1962.
Jason Saber, 04 Sept 2019

MPLA was created in December 1956 with a flag of horizontal blue, red and black stripes with a  yellow stylized sun on the red stripe.  At a conference in Tunis in January 1960, the  MPLA and UPA (Uniao dos Povos d'Angola - United Peoples of Angola) merged to create the FNLA, and operated under a single "national" flag as Angola Livre, where the triangles symbolize the two movements becoming united and the yellow sun meaning independence and the red is the blood shed in the struggle for independence.

In 1963, the old MPLA separated from FNLA and at the Congress of Conakry in January 1964, the MPLA adopted the flag which is in still in use (red over black, with a yellow star in the center).
Jaume Olle, 09 Sept 2019