Angola president dismisses Sonangol chair Isabel dos Santos

[November 15, 2017]  LUANDA (Reuters) - Angolan President Joao Lourenco dismissed Isabel dos Santos as chair of the state oil company Sonangol on Wednesday in a dramatic move against the family of the former president.

Isabel dos Santos, Chairwoman of Sonangol, speaks during a Reuters Newsmaker event in London, Britain, October 18, 2017. REUTERS/Toby Melville

The daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who ruled Angola for 38 years until stepping down in September, was replaced by Carlos Saturnino, the president's office said in a statement.

Saturnino, an oil veteran who was fired by Isabel from Sonangol last year, was most recently Secretary of State for Oil.

A spokesperson for Isabel dos Santos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Lourenco also replaced six other board members, appointing Sebastião Pai Querido Gaspar Martins, Luís Ferreira do Nascimento José Maria, Carlos Eduardo Ferraz de Carvalho Pinto, Rosário Fernando Isaac, Baltazar Agostinho Gonçalves Miguel, Alice Marisa Leão Sopas Pinto da Cruz as executive directors.

José Gime and André Lelo were reappointed as non-executive directors.

Among those dismissed were Sarju Raikundalia, a senior PWC executive who was brought in to clean up Sonangol's finances, and Eunice Carvalho, who previously worked for Chevron and was leading a restructuring at Angola's biggest and most important company.

(Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Joe Brock)

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