Jonas Malheiro Savimbi was born on 3 August 1934 in Munhango, a rural area in the Bié Province of central Angola. At the time of his birth, Angola was under Portuguese colonial rule, and African populations lived under strict political, social, and racial control imposed by the colonial administration.
Savimbi was born into the Ovimbundu ethnic group, the largest ethnic community in Angola, traditionally settled on the central plateau. His birthplace lay within an Ovimbundu-dominated region where agriculture, kinship ties, and community authority structures were central to daily life.
His father, Loth Savimbi, was a Protestant pastor affiliated with the Congregational Evangelical Church of Angola. This position gave the family a respected status within the local community and placed Savimbi's birth within a household closely connected to Christian missionary influence. His mother, Albertina Malheiro, was an Angolan woman rooted in local traditions and family life.
From birth, Savimbi was surrounded by a Christian, missionary-influenced environment, distinct from many rural Angolan households of the period. His birth occurred within a setting shaped by the interaction of African cultural traditions, Christian religious discipline, and colonial authority.