The best-known Guinean of recent years was Amilcar Cabral (1921–73), a founder of PAIGC, its first secretary-general, and a key figure in the war for independence until he was assassinated. Luis de Almeida Cabral (b. 1931), a cofounder of the liberation movement in September 1956, and the younger brother of Amilcar Cabral, subsequently became the first president of Guinea-Bissau; after release from detention by the Revolutionary Council in December 1981, he left the country. João Bernardo Vieira (b. 1939), leader of the Revolutionary Council, came to power in the 1980 coup.
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