Angolan president in 'good health': spokesman

Angola's Ex-President, José Eduardo dos Santos. Agency Photo

What you need to know:

  • Joao Lourenco, the defence minister, has emerged as Dos Santos's chosen successor and is on course to take power at the elections

Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in Spain for nearly a month, has undergone medical checks but is in good health, the ruling MPLA party said Monday.

Dos Santos's health has been subject to weeks of speculation after his daughter Isabel denied rumours that he had died while in Spain.

"President dos Santos is on holiday in Spain, it is a private trip, he is in good health," Anastacio de Brito, a spokesman for the MPLA, told AFP.

"It is quite normal for him to have medical consultations and examinations there," he added.

Dos Santos, 74, has been in power since 1979 and has announced that he will not contest elections due in August, marking a historic change in the oil-rich country.

He has reportedly received cancer treatment in Barcelona over several years.

"In life, it happens to us all that sometimes we do not to feel good. But he is fine. He is in Spain, and when he gets better he will return," Foreign Minister Georges Chikoti told France's RFI radio on Monday.

Joao Lourenco, the defence minister, has emerged as Dos Santos's chosen successor and is on course to take power at the elections.