Professor Franz-Wilhelm Heimer, an undisputed pioneer of African Studies in Portugal and one of the main architects of its institutionalisation in Portuguese higher education, has passed away.
Arriving in Portugal in 1980, after an academic and political career that took him to Brazil and Germany, where he obtained his doctorate at the University of Freiburg with a thesis on decolonisation in Angola, Franz-Wilhelm Heimer became a leading figure in the study of African political and social dynamics. At Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon, he was one of the founders of the Centre for African Studies, now the Centre for International Studies, and the main driving force behind the creation of the first postgraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees in African Studies in Portugal.
An advocate of a modern and interdisciplinary approach — which he called ‘Modern African Studies’ — he brought together political science, sociology and development studies, always in close dialogue with African researchers. He coordinated highly relevant research projects on Angola and Mozambique in the post-war period, consistently integrating young researchers from these countries into his teams and contributing decisively to the training of new generations of academics in Portugal and the PALOP countries.
He was also the driving force behind the Central Library of African Studies, a structuring project that he helped to design and consolidate, ensuring the existence of a specialised, up-to-date bibliographic collection accessible to the national and international academic community.
More than a professor and researcher, Franz-Wilhelm Heimer was an institution builder, an attentive mentor and a tireless promoter of teams and projects. With his passing, African Studies in Portugal has lost one of its most important architects. His scientific, institutional and human legacy will remain in the structures he helped to create and in the generations he trained.
The CEI extends its heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.