Spouse(s) Rosa Teixeira Goudiaby Religion Roman Catholicism | Signature Parents Mario Vaz, Amelia Gomes Name Jose Vaz | |
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Prime Minister Rui Duarte de Barros (Acting)
Domingos Simoes Pereira
Baciro Dja
Carlos Correia Preceded by Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo (Acting) Born 10 December 1957 (age 66)
Calequisse, Portuguese Guinea (now Guinea-Bissau) ( 1957-12-10 ) Political party African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde Role President of Guinea-Bissau Party African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde Office President of Guinea-Bissau since 2014 Similar People Baciro Dja, Amilcar Cabral, Batista Tagme Na Waie | ||
Presidential term June 23, 2014 – | ||
Opening Statement by H. E. Dr. Jose Mario Vaz, President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau
José Mário Vaz (born 10 December 1957) is the President of Guinea-Bissau, in office since 23 June 2014.
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Life and career
Popularly known by the nickname "Jomav," he was born in 1957 to Mário Vaz and Amelia Gomes in Calequisse, outside the city of Cacheu in northern Guinea-Bissau, and is married with three children. He graduated as an economist in Lisbon he did an internship at the Office of Economic Studies of the Banco de Portugal in 1982. In 2004, he was elected as Mayor of Bissau, a position he held until 2009, when he was named by President Malam Bacai Sanhá as Minister of Finance. He and the other ministers were ousted in the 2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'etat.
He is a member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde and won the right to represent the party in the 2014 presidential election by besting eleven hopefuls during a two-day primary in March 2014.
In the first round of the election, held on 13 April 2014, he won 40.9% of the votes, and entered a runoff with the second leading vote-getter, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, who was backed by the military. In the second round, on 18 May 2014, he received 61.9% of the vote. Though Gomes Nabiam initially contested the result, he conceded the election on 22 May 2014.
During the election, Mário Vaz promised to focus on reducing poverty and increasing investment in agriculture, as well as forgiveness for participation in the sorts of criminal activities that have turned Guinea-Bissau into a haven for drug traffickers. After the 2012 coup, he fled to Portugal, but returned in February 2013 and spent three days under arrest. He was accused of being involved in the disappearance of €9.1 million in aid donated to the country by Angola, a charge he denies, and it remains unclear if the donation was ever sent.
