Alvor Agreement

The Alvor Agreement, signed on January 15, 1975, granted Angola independence from Portugal on November 11, ending the war for independence while marking the transition to the Angolan Civil War.

The agreement, signed by the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), and the Portuguese government, was never signed by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda or the Eastern Revolt as the other parties excluded them from negotiations. The coalition government established by the Alvor Agreement soon fell as the various nationalist factions, each distrustful of the other and unwilling to share power, attempted to take control of the country by force. The name of the agreement comes from the place where it was signed, the village of Alvor, located in the Portuguese southern region of Algarve.