REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA
MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS
Office of the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Angolan Communities
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY OF
HIS EXCELLENCY AMBASSADOR DOMINGOS VIEIRA LOPES
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION AND ANGOLAN COMMUNITIES
DOMINGOS CUSTÓDIO VIEIRA LOPES was born in Luanda on April 1, 1959. He is married and has four children.
Career Ambassador, with an academic background that began at Cáritas Portuguesa (primary school) and at the then João Crisóstomo School (preparatory); in 1975 he passed through the Center for Revolutionary Instruction (CIR) of Tombo; attended 5th year of high school at Ngola Kiluange School and Pre-university Education at Mutu-Ya-Kevela School; attended the 3rd year of Law at Agostinho Neto University and graduated in Development Management and International Cooperation at the Modern University of Lisbon/Portugal.
During his professional career he held management and leadership positions at the then Secretary of State for Cooperation (SECOOP) where he was Head of the Planning and Finance Department (1982) and Head of the Global Planning Department (1984).
With the merger between MIREX and SECOOP he assumed the position of Director of the Planning Office of SECOOP (1987) and Head of the Programmes and Projects Department of the Economic Affairs Office of MIREX (1990).
He was National Liaison Officer and Coordinator of the SADCC/SADC Committee of Experts. In this capacity, he participated in seven Summits of Heads of State and seven Ministerial Conferences with international cooperation Partners.
He coordinated the Expert Group of Angola in the technical meetings that under the guidance of the Heads of State participated in the elaboration of the SADC Treaty signed in Windhoek-Namibia, in August 1992.
At the Secretariat of State for Cooperation he was Director for Africa and the Middle East (1992) and Director for International Organisations (1996).
At the Ministry of External Relations , he was Head of the Asia and Oceania Department of the Directorate for Bilateral Cooperation (2002); Advisor/Minister-Councillor at the Embassy of the Republic of Angola in the Kingdom of Sweden, Nordic Countries and Baltic States (2003); Head of America Department of the Directorate for Bilateral Cooperation (2008); Director of the Directorate for Bilateral Cooperation (2010); promoted to Career Ambassador (2010); Consultant at the Office of the Secretary of State for Administrative Organization (2012); Consul General of the Republic of Angola in Oporto/Portugal (2013); appointed Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Angolan Communities (2017).
During his career, he has participated in several activities such as
• Coordination of Bilateral Cooperation Committees;
• Participation in the negotiation of General Cooperation Agreements between Angola and Cuba (Vice President of the Republic) and Brazil (President of the Republic);
• Participation in the signing of the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Angola and the United States of America;
• Participation in various Commissions to draft the Organic Statute of the Ministry of External Relations;
• Coordinator of the Commission for the creation of the Cooperation Institute;
• Upgrading courses on Project Management in Angola, Brazil and China.
He understands and speaks English, Spanish and French.
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