Vieira, João Bernardo

Vieira, João Bernardo ‘Nino’ Vieira (b. 1939?). Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau 1978–80; President 1980–1999 Born in Bissau, he became an electrician and joined Cabral's Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e de Cabo Verde (PAIGC, African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde). He received military training in China and, in the guerrilla war leading up to independence, becoming leader of the southern front in 1964. From 1970 he was in command of all military operations. After independence he became Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, and in 1978 became Prime Minister. In 1980 he took over the leadership after ousting L. Cabral, and in 1984 established civilian rule, with the PAIGC as the only party allowed. He introduced a series of liberal reforms, but his highly authoritarian rule was only slightly relaxed when he allowed free elections in 1994. He faced a military revolt in 1998, and in a year-long civil war increasingly lost ground to the rebels. In 1999 he conceded defeat and went into exile in Portugal.