New games! PlayTrivia andBirthle.

The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from Guinea-Bissau

Icon of occuation in country

This page contains a list of the greatest Guinea-Bissauan Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 15,577 Politicians, 18 of which were born in Guinea-Bissau. This makes Guinea-Bissau the birth place of the 104th most number of Politicians behind Nigeria and Panama.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Guinea-Bissauan Politicians of all time. This list of famous Guinea-Bissauan Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Guinea-Bissauan Politicians.

Photo of João Bernardo Vieira

1. João Bernardo Vieira (1939 - 2009)

With an HPI of 61.09, João Bernardo Vieira is the most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 51 different languages on wikipedia.

João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈɐ̃w bɨɾˈnaɾðu ˈninu viˈɐjɾɐ, ˈʒwɐ̃w -]; 27 April 1939 – 2 March 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999, except for a three-day period in May 1984, and from 2005 until his assassination in 2009. After seizing power from President Luís Cabral in a military coup in 1980, Vieira ruled as part of the Military Council of the Revolution until 1984, when civilian rule was returned. Opposition parties were allowed in 1991, and Vieira won a multiparty presidential election in 1994. He was ousted at the end of the 1998–1999 civil war and went into exile. He made a political comeback in 2005, winning that year's presidential election. Vieira was killed by soldiers on 2 March 2009, apparently in retaliation for a bomb blast that killed Guinea-Bissau's military chief General Batista Tagme Na Waie hours before. The military officially denied these allegations after unidentified Army officials claimed responsibility of Vieira for Na-Waie's death. Vieira described himself as "God's gift" to Guinea-Bissau during his tenure in office.

Photo of Luís Cabral

2. Luís Cabral (1931 - 2009)

With an HPI of 57.03, Luís Cabral is the 2nd most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Luís Severino de Almeida Cabral (11 April 1931 – 30 May 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo Vieira deposed him. Luís Cabral was a half-brother of Amílcar Cabral, with whom he co-founded the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) in 1956.

Photo of Carlos Correia

3. Carlos Correia (1933 - 2021)

With an HPI of 56.83, Carlos Correia is the 3rd most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Carlos Correia (6 November 1933 – 14 August 2021) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 17 September 2015 to 12 May 2016. Previously he was Prime Minister from 27 December 1991 to 26 October 1994, from 6 June 1997 to 3 December 1998, and from 5 August 2008 to 25 December 2008.

Photo of Carmen Pereira

4. Carmen Pereira (1937 - 2016)

With an HPI of 55.21, Carmen Pereira is the 4th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  Her biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Carmen Maria de Araújo Pereira (22 September 1936 – 4 June 2016) was a Bissau-Guinean politician. She served three days as Acting President in 1984, becoming the first woman in this role in Africa and the only one in Guinea-Bissau's history. She had the shortest term as the Acting President, serving only three days in office. She died in Bissau on 4 June 2016.

Photo of Malam Bacai Sanhá

5. Malam Bacai Sanhá (1947 - 2012)

With an HPI of 54.46, Malam Bacai Sanhá is the 5th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Malam Bacai Sanhá (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈmalɐ̃ bɐˈkaj sɐˈɲa]) (5 May 1947 – 9 January 2012) was a Guinea-Bissau politician who was President of Guinea-Bissau from 8 September 2009 until his death on 9 January 2012. A member of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), Sanhá was President of the National People's Assembly from 1994 to 1999 and then served as acting President of Guinea-Bissau from 14 May 1999, to 17 February 2000, following the ouster of President João Bernardo Vieira. Standing as the PAIGC candidate, he placed second in the 1999–2000 presidential election as well as the 2005 presidential election before winning the June–July 2009 presidential election.

Photo of Henrique Rosa

6. Henrique Rosa (1946 - 2013)

With an HPI of 52.13, Henrique Rosa is the 6th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Henrique Pereira Rosa (18 January 1946 – 15 May 2013) was a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as interim President of Guinea-Bissau from 2003 to 2005. He was born in 1946 in Bafatá.

Photo of José Mário Vaz

7. José Mário Vaz (1957 - )

With an HPI of 49.70, José Mário Vaz is the 7th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

José Mário Vaz (born 10 December 1957) is a Bissau-Guinean politician who served as president of Guinea-Bissau from 23 June 2014 to 27 February 2020.

Photo of Kumba Ialá

8. Kumba Ialá (1953 - 2014)

With an HPI of 49.62, Kumba Ialá is the 8th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Kumba Ialá Embaló, also spelled Yalá (15 March 1953 – 4 April 2014), was a Bissau-Guinean politician who was president from 17 February 2000 until he was deposed in a bloodless military coup on 14 September 2003. He belonged to the Balanta ethnic group and was President of the Social Renewal Party (PRS). In 2008 he converted to Islam and took the name Mohamed Ialá Embaló. He was the founder of the Party for Social Renewal. In 2014, Ialá died from a cardiopulmonary arrest.

Photo of Carlos Gomes Júnior

9. Carlos Gomes Júnior (1949 - )

With an HPI of 48.23, Carlos Gomes Júnior is the 9th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Carlos Domingos Gomes Júnior (born December 19, 1949) is a Bissau-Guinean politician who was Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau from 10 May 2004 to 2 November 2005, and again from 25 December 2008 to 10 February 2012. He has been the President of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) since 2002 and is widely known as "Cadogo". He resigned as prime minister on 10 February 2012 to run in the presidential election triggered by President Malam Bacai Sanhá's death on 9 January.

Photo of Veríssimo Correia Seabra

10. Veríssimo Correia Seabra (1947 - 2004)

With an HPI of 47.38, Veríssimo Correia Seabra is the 10th most famous Guinea-Bissauan Politician.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Veríssimo Correia Seabra (February 16, 1947 – October 6, 2004) was a Bissau-Guinean general, known for leading a coup that deposed Kumba Ialá on September 14, 2003.

Pantheon has 18 people classified as politicians born between 1931 and 1973. Of these 18, 9 (50.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living politicians include José Mário Vaz, Carlos Gomes Júnior, and Umaro Sissoco Embaló. The most famous deceased politicians include João Bernardo Vieira, Luís Cabral, and Carlos Correia. As of April 2022, 2 new politicians have been added to Pantheon including Domingos Simões Pereira and Martinho Ndafa Kabi.

Living Politicians

Go to all Rankings

Deceased Politicians

Go to all Rankings

Newly Added Politicians (2022)

Go to all Rankings

Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 8 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.