Savimbi’s charisma and previous training in China helped him build an effective fighting force that challenged the MPLA for over twenty-five years.  However, the fact that UNITA was built around Savimbi meant that after his death the movement disintegrated. Through the entire course of conflict in Angola from 1961 to 2002, foreign powers were involved in various degrees, from direct military assistance to monetary and diplomatic backing of one or more of the internal movements. 