Helder Proença (died June 5, 2009) was a Guinea-Bissauan politician who served as Minister of Defense of Guinea-Bissau during the administration of President João Bernardo Vieira.
[1] On June 5, 2009, Proença, who was a member of the National People's Assembly at the time,[2] was shot and killed by government security forces on a road connecting the northern town of Bula and with Bissau, the capital city of Guinea-Bissau.
[1] A third politician, former Prime Minister Faustino Imbali, was also arrested.
[2] In a statement, the Interior Ministry of Guinea-Bissau accused Proença, Dabó and Embali of being part of the alleged coup plot.
[1] Portugal's state-run news agency, Lusa, reported that Proenca's body was taken to the morgue at the Simao Mendes Hospital in Bissau following his killing.