Angolan leader Jose Eduardo Dos Santos now has a date when he will bring his thirty eight year rule of the country to an end.
Dos Santos who came to power in the number three African economy in 1979 Wednesday signed a decree mandating a presidential election on August 23 and he will not be a candidate.
Dos Santos is the longest serving president in the continent which still has Equitorial Guinea Teodoro Obian Nguema Mbasongo who also came to power in 1979.
They are followed by Paul Biya of Cameroun who has been ruler since 1982 and Eritrean president Isias Afwerki who assumed office in 1983.
According to state radio although Dos Santos will step down after the election in August, he will remain president of the ruling MPLA party.
