About me, briefly:
Born February 1953 in Beira, Mozambique.
Studies: Beira (Liceu Pêro de Anaia), Portugal (Colégio Manuel Bernardes and Colégio Nuno Álvares), Law School (one year, University of Lisbon), BA History, Lourenço Marques University (Mozambique).
Academic work: Witwatersrand [1975*], Uppsala (1985-1987) and Oxford universities (1979-1980). Doctorate from the University of Oxford (DPhil 1987, African Archaeology).
Resident in Sweden since 1995.
Professional activities:
Senior Research Adviser | Sida (Swedish International Development Agency), Stockholm, 2013 – 2016: Provided scientific expertise on research cooperation, Swedish research relevance to developing countries, and international scientific initiatives.
Deputy Director, Social Sciences | IGBP Secretariat, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, 1995 – 2012:
Leadership: Represented IGBP (the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme) at global scientific forums and oversaw the establishment of the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) in Bonn
Network Management: Liaised with 78 national committees and major regional networks on Global Environmental Change for Europe (European Alliance), America (IAI), Asia (APN), and Africa (AfricaNESS)
Scientific Liaison: Managed IGBP Core Projects including PAGES (palaeoscience), GLP (Global Land), LOICZ (coastal management) and iHOPE (Integrated History and Future of People on Earth)
Strategic Support: Conducted peer reviews, edited publications, spearheaded fundraising, and secured institutional support
Principal Researcher and Professor | Tropical Research Institute (IICT) and University Lusófona (ULHT), Lisbon, 1987 – 1995:
Coordinated research in African archaeology and social sciences
Taught methodology of the social sciences and African prehistory at university (ULHT) and polytechnic levels (Santarém and Azores)
Research Fellow | Department of Cultural Anthropology, Uppsala University, 1985 – 1987, and DPhil student, Oxford, 1979-1980:
Conducted African research leading to a DPhil from the University of Oxford
DPhil thesis supervised by Dr Ray Inskeep; examined by Drs David Phillipson and Andrew Sherratt at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in May 1987
Founding Head of Department | Eduardo Mondlane University, Mozambique, 1976 – 1984:
Led an initial archaeological research unit into the fully-fledged Department of Archaeology and Anthropology (DAA)
Planned and led a groundbreaking archaeological survey programme in collaboration with the Swedish National Heritage Board and Uppsala University to enhance scientific knowledge, public awareness and education.
Personal Reminiscences
Mozambique is a kaleidoscope of African, Asian, and European influences—a world poised between land and sea, where shifting tides constantly remake the shores. Growing up alongside the urban mangroves of Beira, I found an everlasting adventure among mudskippers, birdlife and ancient pottery shards. This ever-changing landscape defined my future: a life divided between Beira, Maputo, Lisbon, Oxford, and Stockholm, and a career in archaeology chosen over the family's preference for law.
Following independence in 1975, the rise of a totalitarian regime led to the nationalization of all family property and their forced departure. As a third-generation of "white Mozambicans" I chose to stay, driven by the dream of building a new nation. In 1976, I became the founding head of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at Eduardo Mondlane University, launching a national survey programme funded by Swedish scientific collaboration.
By 1984, fieldwork had become unfeasible as a despotic regime plunged the country into a cruel civil war. Alongside my eighty-year-old grandfather, I boarded a flight into the unknown, the last of three generations to leave. Following a challenging period in Lisbon, I moved to Sweden for a fresh start. Between 1985 and 1987, I worked as a guest researcher at Uppsala University, briefly returning to Oxford—where I had studied from 1979 to 1980—to complete my doctorate in African Archaeology.
After a decade working in Lisbon as principal researcher and university professor, I returned to Sweden in 1995 as Deputy Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP). These seventeen years were the most fulfilling of my career, contributing to landmark concepts like the ‘Anthropocene’ and ‘Planetary Boundaries.’ I concluded my professional journey as a Senior Research Adviser at Sida (2013–2016), though I ultimately resigned due to a lack of scientific rigour within the agency’s bureaucracy.
Reflecting on this journey, I believe that for our species to survive, we must foster creative, respectful relationships with our communities and the nature we are part of, while nurturing a sense of meaning and spiritual connection beyond the material realm.
Today, I live in Sweden with my wife, Anki and I am a father to four children—Sofia, Miguel, Daniel and Klara.
My pastimes include writing, reading, photography and motorcycle travel.
* In Johannesburg—during a study visit to Prof Revil Mason's Archaeological Unit—I shared Carlos Cardoso's tiny apartment that he generously made available. Carlos studied Philosophy at Wits and became years later an outstanding Mozambican journalist and an advocate against corruption and organised crime. He was politically assassinated in 2000.
Image: The Baltic Sea at Stockholm, viewed from the Museum of Modern Art