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Eduardo Chivambo Mondlane
(1920-1969)
President of FRELIMO, 1962-1969
Above: Mondlane in guerrilla fatigues speaking in a FRELIMO base during the armed liberation struggle. Samora Machel can be seen standing behind him, partially obscured, leaning against a tree.
Eduardo Mondlane was born in 1920 in Manjacaze district in what is now Gaza province, the child of a Shangaan-speaking polygamous local leader. He began his schooling after the age of 12, and eventually entered the school run by the Swiss (Presbyterian) Mission, completing his secondary education in South Africa. He began to study at the University of the Witwatersrand ("Wits") but was kicked out on racial grounds after the electoral victory of the National Party in 1948. He pursued his studies in Lisbon, and then in the United States, where he obtained an undergraduate degree, and an MA and a PhD (from Northwestern outside Chicago) as well as getting married to Janet Rae Mondlane.
He then worked first at the United Nations, and then at Syracuse University as an anthropology professor, before resigning in 1963 and moving to Tanganyika to become a political activist in the struggle for Mozambican independence. He had been elected president of the newly-formed Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (FRELIMO) at its founding meeting in Dar es Salaam in 1962, successful partly because of the backing of Julius Nyerere and partly because he was not associated with any of the factions that then existed. He led FRELIMO into the armed struggle against the Portuguese colonial regime, launched on 25 September 1964, but was unable to resolve the split between those who saw a social revolution as an essential component of the struggle, and those who aimed for the more modest goal of just winning independence of some sort. Mondlane was re-elected to the presidency at FRELIMO's second congress, held inside the country in difficult and dangerous conditions, in July 1968.
Early in 1969, Mondlane opened a parcel-bomb while in Dar es Salaam and was killed outright. Those responsible for his death have never been identified, although various theories have been advanced, accusing the Portuguese security policy (PIDE/DGS), rivals within FRELIMO, and even Tanzanian political figures.
This archive does not claim to be more than a random collection of newspaper articles and other documents about Mondlane, who naturally has heroic status in post-independence Mozambique. The archive is divided into the following sections: articles and clippings about Mondlane; interviews with Mondlane; the assassination of Mondlane; speeches and article by Mondlane; bibliographies and links to resources; the Mondlane family; and a picture gallery. Click on the buttons below to navigate straight to a particular page.
1. Articles and Press Clippings about Mondlane
◊ 13 July 1963
Arrest of Mozambique leader denied by both factions. East African Standard, 13 July 1963. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 November 1971
Thomas Henriksen. Eduardo C. Mondlane: his political philosophy. Paper presented at the 14th ASA Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, 3-6 November 1971. 26 pages. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 February 1976
Untitled news item to mark Dia dos Heróis. Notícias, 3 February 1976. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 February 1976
Evocar Eduardo Mondlane num Moçambique independente. Notícias, 3 February 1976. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 26 May 1979
Presidente Samora Machel entrega à UEM documentos pertencentes ao Presidente Mondlane: entregue ao Museu da Revolução telefone de grande valor histórico. Notícias, 26 May 1979. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 3 June 1979
Presidente Samora Machel entrega à UEM documentos pertencentes ao Presidente Mondlane. Tempo, no.451, 3 June 1976, p.3. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 4 February 1983
Ilídio Rocha. Fundandor da FRELIMO morreu há 14 anos: como Mondlane viu o primeiro branco.. O Jornal (Lisbon), 4 February 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 July 1983
Pelo seu exemplo, Natália Sumbane «membro distinto» da ONP: Conselho Coordenador reconhece papel da primeira professora de Eduardo Mondlane. Notícias, 29 July 1983. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 1 February 1984
Mondlane permanece para sempre. Notícias, 1 February 1984. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 5 February 1984
Eduardo Mondlane arquitecto da unidade: o itinerário dum herói moçambicano. Domingo, 5 February 1984, pages 10-11. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 15 April 1984
Cartas autobiográficas de Mondlane: Eduardo Mondlane descreve o ambiente social da sua infância, a sociedade moçambicana nos anos 30. Domingo, 15 April 1984, pages 6-7. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 20 June 1984
Eduardo Mondlane nasceu há 64 anos.. Notícias, 20 June 1984. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 24 January 1986
Carlos Cardoso. Em Oslo, recordando Mondlane. Notícias, 3 February 1976. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 11 August 1988
Segundo Herbert Shore, Eduardo Mondlane cantava e declamava. Domingo, 11 August 1988. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 19 January 1989
20 anos depois, Mondlane presente na memória do povo: Pastor Filimão Nhancale relata facetas da vida do 1º presidente da FRELIMO. Notícias, 19 January 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 24 January 1989
Pela sua inteligência e simpatia, Mondlane gozava da estima de todos: Pastor Conwane da Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique. Notícias, 24 January 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 29 January 1989
Vida e obra de Mondlane é tema de palestras: comemora-se em 3 de Fevereiro o 20º aniversário do assassinato do primeiro presidente da FRELIMO. Tempo, no.955, 29January 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 31 January 1989
Albino Magaia. Mondlane: um humilde testemunho. Notícias, 31 January 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 31 January 1989
Legada por Mondlane, unidade nacional deve ser consolidada, afirmam cidadãos inquiridos pela nossa reportagem. Notícias, 31 January 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
◊ 1 February 1989
Pela passagem do 20º anniversário da sua morte, obra de Mondlane evocada e, todo o país: selo comemorativo será lançado na próxima sexta-feira. Notícias, 1 February 1989. Click here to view or download a PDF file.
Consolidated Downloadable Zipped Files
Click on the yellow folder image below to download an unsorted zipped archive of documents and press clippings in PDF format concerning the life of Eduardo Mondlane. Note: this archive contains more materials than are listed individually above.
