Ovídio Manuel Barbosa Pequeno

Who is Ovídio Manuel Barbosa Pequeno?

Ovídio Manuel Barbosa Pequeno is a São Toméan diplomat, who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs on two occasions.

He became the Ambassador of São Tomé and Príncipe to the Republic of China in December 1999, serving in that position until he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs on 30 March 2004. He remained Foreign Minister until 16 January 2006, when he resigned due to controversy about the spending of aid money from Morocco. Pequeno denied taking any of the money for himself and said that it had been given directly to the president, Fradique de Menezes, and that he had accordingly spent it on the president's behalf. Prime Minister Maria do Carmo Silveira had demanded his resignation, and Pequeno was accused of disloyalty to the government by spending the money in secret and without the government's authorization. Menezes argued in Pequeno's defense that the spending was legitimate.

Following his resignation, he was appointed as Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the United States, Canada and Brazil.