Bié is a province of Angola located on the Bié Plateau in central part of country. Its capital is Kuito, which was called Silva Porto until independence from Portugal in 1975. The province has an area of and a population of 1,455,255 in 2014. The current governor of Bié is Celeste Elavoco David Adolfo.
Geography Bié has boundaries with the province of Malanje, to the northeast with the province of Lunda Sul, to Moxico, to the south with Cuando Cubango and to the west with the provinces of Huila, Huambo and Cuanza Sul.
Climate The climate of Bié is cool and abundant rainfall makes it possible to farm maize, sugar cane, rice, coffee and peanuts. Its ground is among the most fertile in Angola.
History The province was once an important commercial link between the Portuguese traders at the port of Benguela on the Atlantic Ocean and the Ovimbundu in the interior. The capital and other cities in the province remain important commercial centers in Angola.
Origins of Jonas Savimbi
Bié province is perhaps best known as the place where the family of Angolan political leader Jonas Savimbi came from. Savimbi, although born in Moxico Province near Bié, was ethnically Bieno, a subgroup of the Ovimbundu. He led the UNITA movement first in the anti-colonial war against the Portuguese, and then in the Civil War against the ruling MPLA before he was killed in combat in 2002. Savimbi gained global notoriety as a United States ally during the Cold War.
Angolan Civil War
Bié is one of the regions that was heavily affected by the Angolan Civil War. During the civil war, agriculture came to a halt in several areas, and part of the rural population fled to the cities. The province capital Kuito was in part destroyed by bombing, as were roads and other infrastructures. Since 2002, reconstruction efforts have been important, but as of early 2011 much remained to be done.
Municipalities The province of Bié contains nine municipalities ():
Andulo Camacupa Catabola Chinguar Chitembo Cuemba Cuíto (Kuito) Cunhinga N'Harea (Nharea)
Communes
The province of Bié contains the following communes (); sorted by their respective municipalities:
Andulo Municipality – Andulo, Calucinga, Cassumbe, Chivaúlo Camacupa Municipality – Camacupa, Cuanza, Ringoma, Santo António da Muinha, Umpulo Catabola Municipality – Caiuera (Caivera), Catabola Chipeta, Chiuca, Sande Chinguar Municipality – Cangote (Kangote), Chinguar, Cutato (Kutato) Chitembo Municipality – Cachingues, Chitembo, Malengue, Mumbué, Mutumbo (Matumbo), Soma Cuanza Cuemba Municipality – Cuemba, Luando, Munhango, Sachinemuna Kuito Municipality – Cambândua, Chicala, Cuíto (Kuito), Cunje (Kunje), Trumba Cunhinga Municipality – Belo Horizonte, Cunhinga N'Harea Municipality – Calei (Caiei), Dando, Gamba, Lúbia, N'Harea (Nharea)
List of governors of Bié
Name Years in office Amílcar Saraiva de Figueiredo1976–1977 Fernando Faustino Muteka1977–1979 João Baptista Jamba aka Jamba Ya Mina1979–1982 João Marques Monocapui Bassovava1982–1986 Marcolino José Carlos Moco1986–1987 Luís Paulino dos Santos1987–2002 José Amaro Tati 2002–2008 Cândida Celeste da Silva 2008–2009 Álvaro de Boavida Neto 2009–2017 Pereira Alfredo 2018–
References
External links Official website of province governor
Information on this province at Info Angola US government statistics from 1988 Province geographical info at geoview.info