Daniel Chapo

Daniel Francisco Chapo (born 6 January 1977) is a Mozambican politician, lawyer and jurist who is the president-elect of Mozambique. He previously served as the governor of Inhambane Province from 2016 to 2024. He was the candidate of the ruling political party, FRELIMO, for the 2024 presidential election and is also the Secretary General of his political formation currently.

Daniel Chapo
Chapo in 2016
President-elect of Mozambique
Assuming office 15 January 2025
Succeeding	Filipe Nyusi
Governor of Inhambane Province
In office 4 March 2016 – 23 May 2024
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born	(1977-01-06) 6 January 1977 (age 47) Inhaminga, Sofala Province, Mozambique
Political party	FRELIMO
Spouse	Gueta Selemane Chapo ​ ​ (m. 2009)​
Children	3
Education	Eduardo Mondlane University

Early life and education

Chapo was born on 6 January 1977 in Inhaminga, Sofala Province, Mozambique. He had his primary school education in Inhaminga from 1982 to 1985, then in Dondo District from 1986 to 1987, and had secondary education in Dondo District from 1988 to 1996, then at  [pt] in Beira from 1997 to 1998. He attended Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo and studied law, graduating with a degree in 2000. Chapo became a notary public in 2004. He later received a master's degree in development management from the Catholic University of Mozambique in 2014.

Chapo worked as an announcer for in Beira from 1997 to 1998 and later was a news presenter for Televisão Miramar in the capital from 2003 to 2004. He was appointed conservator of Nacala-Porto in 2005. He interned for a bar association from 2007 to 2008 and also taught political science and constitutional law at Maputo Pedagogical University in 2009.

Political career

Chapo entered politics with the party FRELIMO in 2009, being appointed administrator of the Nacala-a-Velha District. He later became administrator of the Palma District in 2015.

Governor of Inhambane

He was appointed the governor of Inhambane Province on 4 March 2016. Three years later, he was elected to the position during the general elections in October 2019.

On 5 May 2024, Chapo was announced as the FRELIMO candidate for the 2024 presidential election, to replace the term-limited Filipe Nyusi, with 225 votes (94%) by the party committee. Considered relatively unknown, his nomination was seen as a surprise. On 13 May, he was appointed the party's interim secretary-general. He later announced his resignation as governor of Inhambane Province, which was approved by the legislature on 23 May, to focus on the election on 9 October. He would be succeeded as governor of Inhambane province by , the Speaker of the Inhambane Provincial Assembly.

Presidential candidate

He is the first FRELIMO presidential candidate to have been born after the country's independence from Portugal in 1975. Due to the dominance of FRELIMO in Mozambican politics, Chapo was viewed as the favorite to win the election. On 24 October, Mozambique's electoral commission announced that Chapo won the election with 71% of the vote.

Personal life

Chapo is married and has four children. He is a Christian.

References

1. "Mozambique: President swears in new governor of Inhambane province". clubofmozambique. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
2. "Daniel Francisco Chapo". Quem é Quem: Secretários de Estado nas Províncias e Governadores de Províncias (2020-2024) [Who's Who: Secretaries of State in the Provinces and Provincial Governors (2020-2024)] (in Portuguese). Maputo: Public Information Bureau. June 2022. pp. 109–110 – via Issuu.
3. "Quem é Daniel Chapo? Um breve perfil do candidato presidencial da Frelimo" [Who is Daniel Chapo? A brief profile of Frelimo's presidential candidate] (in Portuguese). Televisão de Moçambique. 6 May 2024.
4. Lusa (6 May 2024). "Daniel Chapo é o candidato da Frelimo a Presidente de Moçambique" [Daniel Chapo is Frelimo's candidate for President of Mozambique]. Público (in Portuguese).
5. Hill, Matthew; Nhamirre, Borges (5 May 2024). "Chapo is Mozambique Ruling Party's Surprise Pick as New Leader". Bloomberg News – via archive.ph.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. "Daniel Chapo, 47, Announced As Ruling Party's Candidate in October Presidential Election". The New Times. 8 May 2024 – via AllAfrica.
7. Mangwiro, Charles (7 May 2024). "Mozambique's ruling party nominates presidential candidate". Voice of America.
8. "Mozambique's ruling party announces Chapo as presidential candidate". Reuters. 6 May 2024.
9. "Daniel Chapo: the choice that surprised everyone". . 6 May 2024.
10. "Mozambique's ruling party names new leader ahead of elections". Africanews. 6 May 2024.
11. Chavo, Afonso (13 May 2024). "Daniel Chapo é secretário-geral interino da Frelimo" [Daniel Chapo is interim secretary general of Frelimo] (in Portuguese). . Archived from the original on 28 May 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
12. "Assembleia Provincial de Inhambane aprova renúncia de Daniel Chapo, ao cargo do governador da província" [Inhambane Provincial Assembly approves resignation of Daniel Chapo from the position of governor of the province]. . 23 May 2024. Archived from the original on 24 May 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
13. "Q&A: How Mozambique got a (nearly) born-free future president in Daniel Chapo". News24. 8 May 2024.
14. Avendaño, Victor (1 June 2024). "Mozambique: 10 things to know about Daniel Chapo, likely future president". The Africa Report.
15. "Mozambique's ruling party wins landslide in disputed poll". BBC News. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.

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Political offices
Preceded by Armando Guebuza	President of Mozambique Taking office 2025	Elect