Gabriel

In the Abrahamic religions, Gabriel (Hebrew: גַּבְרִיאֵל, Modern Gavri'el, Tiberian Gaḇrîʼēl "God is my strength"; Biblical Greek: Γαβριήλ, Gabriēl) is an angel who typically serves as a messenger sent from God to certain people.

Gabriel is mentioned in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the Old Testament, he appears to the prophet Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions (Daniel 8:15–26, 9:21–27). In the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel appeared to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, respectively (Luke 1:11–38). In the Book of Daniel, he is referred to as "the man Gabriel", while in the Gospel of Luke, Gabriel is referred to as "an angel of the Lord" (Luke 1:11). Gabriel is not called an archangel in the Bible, but is so called in Intertestamental period sources like the Book of Enoch. In the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel are also referred to as saints. In Islam, Gabriel is considered an archangel whom God is believed to have sent with revelation to various prophets, including Muhammad. The 96th chapter of the Quran, al-Alaq, is believed by Muslims to have been the first chapter (surah) revealed by Gabriel to Muhammad.

Gabriel Costa

Gabriel Arcanjo Ferreira da Costa (born 1954) is a Santoméan politician who was Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe from 12 December 2012 to 25 November 2014. He previously served as Prime Minister briefly in 2002.

Prime Minister

Costa was Ambassador to Portugal from 2000 to 2002. He was appointed as Prime Minister to lead a coalition government in April 2002. However, he was sacked from that post on 27 September 2002 by President Fradique de Menezes after army unrest over two controversial promotions.

On 3 December 2012, he was again appointed as Prime Minister by President Manuel Pinto da Costa, following the dismissal of Patrice Trovoada, who had lost his parliamentary majority.

References