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Research dossier · People & Ideas

Jonas Savimbi

Angolan politician and rebel leader (1934–2002)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 24, 2026
Entity authoritySource title only
Source-derived summary

Jonas Malheiro Sidónio Sakaita Savimbi was an Angolan revolutionary, politician, and rebel military leader who founded and led the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola, also known as UNITA. UNITA was one of several groups which waged a guerrilla war against Portuguese colonial rule from 1966 to 1974. Once independence was achieved, it then became an anti-communist group, which confronted the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, also known as the MPLA, during the Angolan Civil War. Savimbi was killed in a clash with government troops in 2002.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Jonas Savimbi” as angolan politician and rebel leader (1934–2002). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1966, 1974, 2002—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Jonas, Savimbi and Angolan can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as angolan politician and rebel leader (1934–2002). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The first chronological checks are 1966, 1974 and 2002.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Jonas Savimbi”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Jonas Savimbi primary sources, Jonas Savimbi archive and Jonas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jonas Savimbi”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Jonas Savimbi” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.