Angola’s new leader is making surprising moves to shake himself free of the legacy of one of Africa’s longest-serving presidents, and is seeking closer relations with South Africa.

Joao Lourenco is to visit South Africa Thursday and Friday, after having already met with President Jacob Zuma in Angola earlier this week.

Since winning election in August, Lourenco has put in place a new government and fired the daughter of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos as chair of the powerful state-owned oil company.

When the ailing dos Santos stepped down after nearly 38 years in power, Lourenco, the former defense minister was generally expected to conduct business as usual. But Lourenco, 63, quickly appointed a crop of new ministers to differentiate himself from dos Santos and replaced key security personnel.
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