Director General of Sonangol and Minister of Finance
Joaquim Duarte da Costa David was born in 1951 and has long been considered a political ally of the Angolan President, José Eduardo dos Santos. David began his career as an oil engineer in the late 1970s, working for Petrangol and Texaco.
In 1982 he was appointed a divisional chief of Angola’s state oil producer, Sonangol. He was promoted to the position of director general of Sonangol in 1989, a position he held until 1998. David was thus director general of Sonangol during the earliest phases of the Angola-Russia Debt Deal. After resigning from Sonangol, David served as Minister of Finance until 2000, after which he served as the Minister of Industry. In 2010, David ‘s Ministry was expanded to include Geology and Mines —a position he still holds.