The billionaire businessman died yesterday in a Brussels, Belgium hospital after a brief illness, a source close to the family said. He was 79.
Details of the death remained hazy last night. One of Africa’s richest men, the late Fernandez was born in Lagos into the Fernandez family which originated from Brazil.
He was adviser to the Angolan Government on Economic Matters. He held this position for two years until his appointment as Deputy Permanent Representative of Mozambique to the United Nations in 1984.He ran an oil company known as Petro Inett – which obtained a 50 per cent share with South African-based Energy Africa Limited in a deal with the state oil company for exploration rights in a 4,700 km2 area of Angola’s coast in 1996.In 1992, he was appointed as Special Adviser to the President of Mozambique on International Economic Matters, a position he held for three years.
