Fradique Bandeira Melo de Menezes (born March 21, 1942) is a São Toméan politician who was the third president of São Tomé and Príncipe from 2001 to 2011.
Early life Menezes was born on the then Portuguese colony of São Tomé in 1942, the son of a Portuguese man and a local woman. He attended high school in Portugal. He then studied at the Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada in Lisbon, Portugal and Free University of Brussels.
Career Menezes is a businessman. He was Foreign Minister of São Tome and Príncipe from 1986 until 1987. He was elected President in July 2001 with about 55.2% of the vote, defeating Manuel Pinto da Costa, who received about 40%.Elections in São Tomé and Príncipe, African Elections Database. Menezes took office on September 3, 2001."New president sworn-in", IRIN, September 4, 2001. His eligibility as a candidate had been questioned, since he also held Portuguese citizenship, but he renounced this and his candidacy was approved."Fradique de Menezes new president on Sao Tomé", afrol News, August 6, 2001.
Almost immediately into his presidency, Menezes faced a political deadlock with the country's parliament, the National Assembly. After the March 3, 2002, parliamentary election, Menezes appointed Gabriel Costa of Independent Democratic Action (ADI) as prime minister to lead a coalition government that included all the parties in the National Assembly. However, on September 27 he dismissed the Costa government and on October 3 replaced Costa with Maria das Neves of the Movement for the Liberation of São Tomé and Príncipe – Social Democratic Party (MLSTP–PSD). The move cost Menezes the support of his own party, the Force for Change Democratic Movement (MDFM), as well as its parliamentary partner, the Democratic Convergence Party (PCD).
Consequently in late October, opposition parties tabled a motion to revise the constitution, ostensibly to fix ambiguities that they blamed for conflict between the president and National Assembly since 1991. The amendments, proposed to go into effect after the completion of Menezes's term in 2006, aimed to curtail the powers of the president and increase the influence of the National Assembly. In December 2002, 52 of the 55 deputies of the National Assembly voted in favour of the amendments, prompting Menezes to denounce and veto the amendments, as well as demand a national referendum on the revised constitution. The National Assembly ignored Menezes's demand and its deputies reaffirmed their vote and approved the new constitution a second time on January 17, 2003. In response, Menezes dissolved the National Assembly on January 21 and called for early elections on April 13. However, Menezes and the National Assembly quickly came to a memorandum of understanding on January 24; Menezes pledged to promulgate the amendments, while the National Assembly agreed to hold a national referendum on the country's system of government at the end of Menezes's presidential term in 2006.
Conflict between Menezes and the National Assembly continued despite the memorandum of understanding, and in April 2003 an open later signed by Menezes's opponents was published, accusing Menezes of corruption, incompetence, and lacking transparency. In particular, his opponents highlighted a transfer from Nigerian Chrome Oil Services to the Belgian bank account of a São Tomé–based private company owned by Menezes. Menezes subsequently held a three-hour press conference attacking the character of the letter's signatories and explaining that the transfer had been a political donation split evenly between the MDFM and the PCD. The president had inadvertently admitted to violating the country's laws, which forbid political parties from receiving money from foreign companies.
On July 16, 2003, a faction of the military led by Fernando "Cobo" Pereira launched a coup d'état to depose Menezes while he was away in Nigeria. However, Menezes was restored to power on July 23, 2003, following an agreement with Pereira and other coup leaders."Coup leaders hand power back to civilian president", IRIN, July 23, 2003.
Menezes was re-elected on July 30, 2006, winning 60.58% of the vote and defeating Patrice Trovoada, son of former president Miguel Trovoada."Incumbent wins vote", IRIN, August 2, 2006.
The discovery of a coup plot allegedly involving Christian Democratic Front leader Arlecio Costa was announced on February 12, 2009. Costa and more than 30 others were arrested. At a press conference on February 24, Menezes said that he was "touched" by the support of the security forces; he also said that he would be willing to leave office if he was "the reason that things are not working in this country"., AFP, February 25, 2009.
Menezes received the World Peace Culture Award on July 13, 2002.
References
External links President Menezes' address to the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, September 26, 2008