Situation Report: Sao Tome and Principe Update, Gerhard Seibert

On 19 September 2004, Damião Vaz de Almeida replaced Maria das Neves as prime minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (STP), effectively becoming the fifth prime minister since President Fradique de Menezes was elected in July 2001. The appointment of Vaz de Almeida, minister of labour in the previous STP government and vice-president of the ruling MLSTP/PSD (Movimento de Libertação de São Tomé e Príncipe/Partido Social Democrata) for the region of Príncipe, may be seen as the culmination of the political crisis that has shaken the archipelago since July 2003. It may be recalled that following the attempted military coup in July 2003, Prime Minister Maria das Neves handed in her resignation but President Menezes reaffirmed his confidence in her and reappointed her as prime minister.