Angola–Portugal relations Angola–Portugal relations Angola–Portugal relations have significantly improved since the Angolan government abandoned communism and nominally embraced democracy in 1991, embracing a pro-U.S. and to a lesser degree pro-Europe foreign policy. Portugal ruled Angola for 400 years, colonizing the territory from 1483 until independence in 1975. Angola's war for independence did not end in a military victory for either side, but was suspended as a result of a coup in Portugal, that replaced the Caetano regime with a National Salvation JuntaThe Portuguese government recognized the authority of the MPLA, under the command of President Agostinho Neto, on December 22, 1976 and
United Nations Angola Verification Mission II (MPLA), the "de facto" government of Angola, with control of Luanda and most of the country since independence in 1975, and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). The mission's original mandate was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 696 (1991), passed on May 30, 1991. The stated mandate was: to verify the arrangements agreed by the Angolan parties for the monitoring of the ceasefire and for the monitoring of the Angolan police during the ceasefire period. The subsequent resolution Resolution 747 (1992), passed March 24, 1992 altered the mandate to include electoral monitoring duties. During