Profile: Sao Tome President

By Sao Lima
BBC Portuguese for Africa journalist

Mr Menezes says, 'no solution can be reached through violence'

President Fradique de Menezes of Sao Tome and Principe returned home last week, courtesy of international mediators and the coup leaders, who briefly seized power while he was abroad in neighbouring Nigeria.

One question many people are asking in Sao Tome and Principe is how President Fradique de Menezes will digest the military coup which temporarily ousted him.

In his first speech to the nation, Mr de Menezes sounded unusually ceremonial and restrained.

Back in power after a vigorous multilateral mediation which saw the putchists returning to the barracks, the Sao Tome president repudiated the coup and said that no solution can be reached through violence.

'Mutual tolerance'

Mr de Menezes stressed the virtues of dialogue and mutual tolerance and stretched an olive branch to everybody, including the army.

Like the Catholic saint after whom the island was named, when it comes to President de Menezes, the Sao Tome people believe the best thing to do is to wait and see.

And they have their reasons. The son of a Portuguese father and a Sao Tome mother, the 61-year-old businessman is a dynamic, outspoken and volatile character famous for not exactly remembering tomorrow what he said the day before.

Neither is he usually praised for sleeping over his doubts before taking a decision.

Factor of instability

In two years, he has sacked three prime-ministers and his frequent interference in other institutions led critics to accuse him of being a factor of instability himself.

OIL-FUELLED FUTURE Sao Tome has one of the world's highest foreign debts The auctioning of oil permits in 2004 is due to net $100 million Sao Tome will receive 40% and Nigeria 60% of eventual oil revenue Oil key to Sao Tome

A few months ago, a group of prominent citizens took him to court demanding compensation for comments perceived as being offensive.

During a public speech, he was forced to apologize.

Last year while the oil dossier with Nigeria was been renegotiated, his impromptu comments led President Olusegun Obasanjo to fly to Sao Tome.

In private, it was reported that Mr Obasanjo told him that he talks too much and reminded him that state affairs should be dealt with some discretion.

His inability to control his temperament and what is often described as lack of diplomatic skills seems surprising in someone who had been ambassador to Belgium for several years and was in charge of the foreign affairs portfolio.

However, Sao Tome is a country where corruption is said to be deeply rooted in the political culture.

So the people who elected Mr de Menezes two years ago assumed that a man who already had his own fortune would not need to pocket state resources.

And he started very well. One of his first measures was to denounce the oil agreements signed by his predecessors as disadvantageous for his people.

'Sense of humour'

When he announced the full renegotiation of the dossiers, he was roundly applauded.

Many people had expected him to become a puppet in the hands of former President Trovoada who had backed him with money, logistical resources, regional connections and his party machine.

Profile: Coup leader

But Mr de Menezes distanced himself from his former "patron" as soon as he found himself in the presidential chair.

His ability to speak Portuguese, English and French fluently has enabled him to speak for himself without intermediaries almost everywhere and, although sometimes clumsy, his sense of humour makes him enjoyable company.

A widower, Mr de Menezes has no children, but is very close to the daughter of his late Belgian wife.

The president loves to rally his advisers and friends around him in his mansion in the outskirts of the capital and his talents as a cook have been praised by many guests.

When he was elected two years ago, Mr de Menezes promised to reverse the economic and social crisis in two years.

The truth is, for the majority, things are getting worse, not better.

And people started confronting him bitterly with his triumphalist promises.

But in spite of the present troubles, his critics do not underestimate him.