Carlos Vila Nova

Carlos Manuel Vila Nova (born 27 July 1959) is a Santomean politician who is the fifth and current president of São Tomé and Príncipe, since 2 October 2021. He served as the minister of Public Works and Natural Resources (2010–2012) and minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and the Environment (2014–2018) in successive governments of Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada.

Vila Nova was born in Neves, a city in Lembá District on the northern coast of São Tomé Island. He received a degree in telecommunications engineering from the University of Oran, Algeria in 1985, then returned to become the head of the computer department of the government Statistics Directorate.

In 1988, he left the civil service to become a sales manager at the Hotel Miramar, which was then the only hotel in the country. He was promoted to Director of the Hotel Miramar in 1992. In 1997, he became Director of Hotel Pousada Boa Vista, and also founded his own travel agency Mistral Voyages. Vila Nova continued in the tourism industry until he entered politics in 2010.

Vila Nova served as Minister of Public Works and Natural Resources in the cabinet of Patrice Trovoada from 2010 until the government lost its majority in 2012. He was appointed Minister of Infrastructure, Natural Resources and the Environment when Trovoada's Independent Democratic Action (ADI) regained the majority in 2014. In 2018, Vila Nova was elected to the National Assembly.

He was the Independent Democratic Action (ADI) candidate for the 2021 presidential election. On 6 September, he was declared president-elect of São Tomé and Príncipe, receiving 58% of the vote and defeating Guilherme Posser da Costa of the MLSTP/PSD. On 14 September, he was declared president by the Tribunal constitutional court.

On 6 January 2025, he dismissed Prime Minister Patrice Trovoada and his government, citing Trovoada's prolonged absences and his government's failure to solve multiple issues. Trovoada responded calling his dismissal "illegal" and "unconstitutional". He then selected then Minister of Justice, Ilza Amado Vaz, as prime minister. Vaz then resigned, stating in a letter that her continued leadership “would not contribute to the success of public policies and the harmonious and peaceful development.” He thereafter picked Américo Ramos, who was not endorsed for the prime ministerial role by the ADI, being criticized for ignoring the majority of the National Assembly.

In March 2026, Vila Nova, together with Prime Minister Américo Ramos and the international business group Aequatoris, announced the future creation of the São Tomé Financial Centre, a major economic reform that will create a free zone to attract international service companies to the country.

Vila Nova is married to Maria de Fátima Afonso Vila Nova and has two daughters.

• Cape Verde:

  • 1st Class of the Amílcar Cabral Order – 2023

• Equatorial Guinea:

  • Grand Collar of the Order of Independence – 2024

• Portugal:

  • Grand Collar of the Order of Prince Henry – 2022

• List of current heads of state and government

• List of heads of the executive by approval rating