ANGOLA, September 9 - João Lourenço got 2,309 votes (98.59 percent), during an election that recorded one hundred null votes, 27 against and six abstentions.

At least 2,442 delegates attended the event, during which José Eduardo dos Santos transferred the MPLA leadership to João Lourenço.

Following is the profile of the new MPLA president

João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, general in reserve, is 64 years old and was invested on September 26, 2017 as the third President of the Republic of Angola, in the framework of the general elections of August 23, where the MPLA obtained 61.08 percent of the votes, electing 150 deputies, out of the 220 possible seats of the National Assembly.

Born on March 5, 1954, in Lobito, Benguela, João Lourenço was, until the time of his election, Minister of Defense of Angola, position for which he had been appointed in April 2014.

He is the son of Sequeira João Lourenço, a nurse from Malanje, and Josefa Gonçalves Cipriano Lourenço, a seamstress, a native of Namibe, both deceased.

He completed primary and secondary education in the province of Bié, where his father was in the supervised residence for 10 years, after serving three years in the prison of São Paulo, in Luanda, for clandestine political activity as a nurse in the Port of Lobito.

He continued his studies in Luanda at the then Industrial Institute of Luanda. After the fall of the fascist regime in Portugal, in the company of other young people, he joined the national liberation struggle in Ponta Negra in August 1974 at CUN Kalunga.

He was part of the first group of combatants who entered national territory via Miconge-Belize-Buco Zau-Dinge-Cabinda.

On the eve of independence, he participated in the fighting at the border of the N'Tó / Yema against the FNLA / Army Zairense coalition that was defeated and from the Tchizo hill in Cabinda against the FNLA forces, which was on the banks of the river Lucola at the entrance to the city.

He has trained in heavy artillery and served as political commissar in the squad of platoon, company, battalion, brigade and the 2nd Cabinda Political-Military Region between 1977/78.

He was then sent to then Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), where from 1978 to 1982 at the Superior Academy Lenin, in addition to military training, was awarded the title of Master in Historical Sciences.

From 1982 to 1983, he participated in operations in the provinces of Cuanza Sul, Huambo and Bié.

From 1983 to 1986, he served as provincial commissioner (now governor) of Moxico and President of the Regional Military Council of the 3rd Military Political Region, which included the provinces of Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.

From 1986 to 1989 he was 1st secretary of the MPLA and Provincial Commissioner of Benguela. From 1989 to 1990 he served as Head of the National Policy Directorate of then FAPLA (Angolan Armed Forces for Popular Liberation).

From 1991 to 1998 he served as secretary of the Political Bureau for Information, secretary of the Political Bureau for Economic Sphere for a short time and Head of Parliamentary Bench.

From 1998 to 2003 he was secretary general of the MPLA and President of the Constitutional Commission.

 From 2003 to April 2014, he served as the 1st Vice-President of the National Assembly. He is a member of the Political Bureau of the Party Central Committee.

He is married to Ana Afonso Dias Lourenço and father of 6 children.

He practiced soccer and karate Shotokan style, has as hobby reading, chess, and riding.

Apart from Portuguese, he speaks English, Russian and Spanish.