Bié Province
Template:Short description Template:Infobox settlement
Bié is a province of Angola located on the Bié Plateau in central part of country.<ref name="d"/> Its capital is Kuito, which was called Silva Porto until independence from Portugal in 1975. The province has an area of Template:Convert and a population of 1,455,255 in 2014.<ref name="Censo2014" /> The current governor of Bié is Celeste Elavoco David Adolfo.
Geography
Bié has boundaries with the province of Malanje, to the northeast with the province of Lunda Sul, to Moxico, to the south with Cuando Cubango and to the west with the provinces of Huila, Huambo and Cuanza Sul.
Climate
The climate of Bié is cool and abundant rainfall makes it possible to farm maize, sugar cane, rice, coffee and peanuts. Its ground is among the most fertile in AngolaTemplate:Citation needed.
History
The province was once an important commercial link between the Portuguese traders at the port of Benguela on the Atlantic Ocean and the Ovimbundu in the interior. The capital and other cities in the province remain important commercial centers in Angola.<ref name="d"/>
Origins of Jonas Savimbi
Bié province is perhaps best known as the place where the family of Angolan political leader Jonas Savimbi came from. Savimbi, although born in Moxico Province near Bié, was ethnically Bieno, i.e. of a subgroup of the Ovimbundu. He led the UNITA movement first in the anti-colonial war against the Portuguese, and then in the Civil War against the ruling MPLA before he was killed in combat in 2002. Savimbi gained global notoriety as a United States ally during the Cold War.
Civil War
Bié is one of the regions that was heavily affected by the Civil War. Agriculture came to a halt in several areas, and part of the rural population fled to the cities. The province capital Kuito was in part destroyed by bombing, as were roads and other infrastructures. Since 2002, reconstruction efforts have been important, but as of early 2011 much remained to be done.
Municipalities
The province of Bié contains nine municipalities (Template:Langx):
Communes
The province of Bié contains the following communes (Template:Langx); sorted by their respective municipalities:
- Andulo Municipality – Andulo, Calucinga, Cassumbe, Chivaúlo
- Camacupa Municipality – Camacupa, Cuanza, Ringoma, Santo António da Muinha, Umpulo
- Catabola Municipality – Caiuera (Caivera), Catabola Chipeta, Chiuca, Sande
- Chinguar Municipality – Cangote (Kangote), Chinguar, Cutato (Kutato)
- Chitembo Municipality – Cachingues, Chitembo, Malengue, Mumbué, Mutumbo (Matumbo), Soma Cuanza
- Cuemba Municipality – Cuemba, Luando, Munhango, Sachinemuna
- Kuito Municipality – Cambândua, Chicala, Cuíto (Kuito), Cunje (Kunje), Trumba
- Cunhinga Municipality – Belo Horizonte, Cunhinga
- N'Harea Municipality – Calei (Caiei), Dando, Gamba, Lúbia, N'Harea (Nharea)
List of governors of Bié
| Name | Years in office |
|---|---|
| Amílcar Saraiva de Figueiredo | 1976–1977 |
| Fernando Faustino Muteka | 1977–1979 |
| João Baptista Jamba aka Jamba Ya Mina | 1979–1982 |
| João Marques Monocapui Bassovava | 1982–1986 |
| Marcolino José Carlos Moco | 1986–1987 |
| Luís Paulino dos Santos | 1987–2002 |
| José Amaro Tati | 2002–2008 |
| Cândida Celeste da Silva | 2008–2009 |
| Álvaro de Boavida Neto | 2009–2017 |
| Pereira Alfredo | 2018– |
<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
External links
- Official website of province governor Template:Webarchive
- Information on this province at the Angolan ministry for territorial administration
- Information on this province at Info Angola
- US government statistics from 1988
- Province geographical info at geoview.info
Template:Provinces of Angola Template:Bié Province Template:Authority control