Luis Bernardo Honwana

Luís Bernardo Honwana was born Luís Augusto Bernardo Manuel in Lourenço
Marques (present-day Maputo), Mozambique. His parents, Raúl Bernardo Manuel
(Honwana) and Naly Jeremias Nhaca, belonged to the Ronga people from Moamba, a
town about 55 km northwest of Maputo. In 1964 he became a militant with FRELIMO, a
front that had the objective to liberate Mozambique from Portuguese colonial rule. Due
to his political activities he was arrested by the colonial authorities and was incarcerated
for three years.
He studied law in Portugal and worked for some time as a journalist. He was appointed
director of President's office under Samora Machel. Later in 1981, he became Secretary
of State for culture. He served on the Executive Board of UNESCO from 1987 to 1991
and was chairman of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for the World Decade
for Culture and Development. In 1995, he was appointed director of the newly opened
UNESCO office in South Africa. Since he retired from the organization in 2002, he has
been active in research in the arts, history and ethno-linguistics.
(born 1942) is a Mozambican author.