Hélder Vieira Dias

General Manuel Hélder Vieira Dias Jr, known by the nickname "Kopelipa", is an Angolan general, former public official, and businessman with close ties to former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos. In 2014, his net worth was estimated at close to $3 billion.[1]

Hélder Vieira Dias Júnior
Head of Studies, Research and Analysis Office (GEPA)
In office
1993–2017
Preceded byLopo do Nascimento
Chief of the Military Staff of the President
In office
1995–2017
Preceded byOsvaldo Serra Van-Dúnem
Director-General of the National Foreign Intelligence Service
In office
2006–2006
Preceded byFernando Garcia Miala
Succeeded byAndré Sango
Head of the President's Security Service
In office
2012–2017
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPedro Sebastião
Personal details
Born (1953-10-04) October 4, 1953
Luanda, Angola
NationalityAngolan
Political partyMPLA

Family Background

Kopelipa belongs to an important Angolan family with strong ties to the MPLA.[2] He is the nephew of Carlos Aniceto Vieira Dias, known as “Liceu,” who was a founder of the band Ngola Ritmos and the MPLA; the cousin of musician Ruy Alberto Vieira Dias Mingas, who wrote the music for Angola Avante, Angola's national anthem; the cousin once removed of Filomeno do Nascimento Vieira Dias, the Archbishop of Luanda;[3] and the cousin of opposition politician Filomeno Vieira Lopes.[4]

Public Role

Kopelipa is the former director of the National Reconstruction Office, a top governmental position in Angola.[5][6] He is — along with fellow "top generals" Higino Carneiro, João Maria de Sousa, Roberto Leal Monteiro, and Kundi Paihama — one of the military leaders holding top ministerial posts for the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, the political party that has ruled Angola since it gained its independence from Portugal in 1975.[7] The general has been referred to as "the highest and most trusted member of the president’s entourage"[6] and was a member of the trio of officials known as Dos Santos’s "Presidential Triumvirate,” along with Manuel Vicente and General Leopoldino “Dino” Fragoso do Nascimento.[8]

References
  1. James, W. Martin, ed. (2018). "Dias, Manuel Hélder Vieira (Kopelipa)". Historical Dictionary of Angola (3rd ed.). Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 114.
  2. dos Santos, Jacques Arlindo (1999). ABC do Bê Ó (1 ed.). Luanda: Edições CC. pp. 122–123.
  3. Sul d'Angola, Nelson (December 10, 2014). "Ligação de novo arcebispo de Luanda à Presidência de Angola cria controvérsia". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019.
  4. Soares de Oliveira, Ricardo (2015). Magnificent and beggar land: Angola since the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 113.
  5. Republic of Angola Permanent Mission to the United Nations, December 2005 Newsletter
  6. Archived 2011-05-26 at Archive.today Angola After the Wars by Augusta Conchiglia (11 Jun 2008)
  7. Archived 2012-07-16 at Archive.today "Private security companies and a parallel State in Angola" (africafiles.org)
  8. Marques de Morais, Rafael (October 23, 2018). "Angola's Path to Justice: Prosecuting the Guilty and Recovering the Stolen Billions". Maka Angola.


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