Simon Mann (1953) is a security expert, mercenary and former British Army officer, now holding South African citizenship. He has been accused of planning to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea by leading a mercenary force into the capital Malabo in an effort to kidnap or kill president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo. 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link is to a full 1953 calendar). ... A mercenary is a soldier who fights, or engages in warfare primarily for private gain, usually with little regard for ideological, national or political considerations. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... . Malabo is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island (formerly Fernando Poo). ... Brigadier General (ret. ...

Simon Mann's father, George Mann, captained the England cricket team in the late 1940s and was heir to the Watney Mann brewing empire that is now part of Diageo. George's father (Simon's grandfather) Frank Mann, also captained the England cricket team in 1922/23. Francis George Mann (6 September 1917-8 August 2001) was an English cricketer who played for Cambridge University, Middlesex and England. ... The English cricket team is a national cricket team representing England and Wales. ... // Events and trends World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atomic bomb. ... Diageo plc, the largest multinational beer, wine and spirits company in the world, listed on the London Stock Exchange was formed in 1997 from the merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc. ... Francis (Frank) Thomas Mann (3 March 1888-6 October 1964) was an English cricketer. ...

After leaving Eton College, Simon Mann trained as an officer at Sandhurst and joined the Scots Guards. He later became a member of the SAS and served in Cyprus, Germany, Norway and Northern Ireland before leaving the forces in 1985. He was re-called to action from the reserves for the 1990/1991 Gulf War. The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor, commonly known as Eton College or just Eton, is a prestigious and internationally known Public School for boys. ... ʘ For other uses, see Sandhurst (disambiguation). ... The Scots Guards is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division, and have a long and proud history stretching back hundreds of years. ... It has been suggested that SAS Troops be merged into this article or section. ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official Languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th UK 13,843... This article is about the year. ... Combatants U.S.-led coalition Iraq Commanders George H. W. Bush Norman Schwarzkopf Colin Powell Saddam Hussein Ali Hassan al-Majid Hussein Kamel Strength 660,000 545,000 Casualties 345 dead, 1,000 wounded 25,000 - 100,000 dead, 100,000 - 300,000 wounded The 1991 Gulf War (also called...

After leaving the SAS in 1985, Mann entered the field of computer security; however, his interest in this industry lapsed when he returned from his service in the Gulf and he entered the oil industry to work with Tony Buckingham. Buckingham also had a military background and had been a diver in the North Sea oil industry before joining a Canadian oil firm. In 1993 UNITA rebels in Angola seized the port of Soyo, and closed off its oil installations. The Angolan government under Jose Eduardo dos Santos sought out mercenaries to seize back the port and asked for assistance from Buckingham who had by now formed his own company. Buckingham hired a South African organization called Executive Outcomes and Mann and Buckingham now became involved in Executive Outcomes' mercenary activities. North Sea oil refers to oil and natural gas (hydrocarbons) produced from oil reservoirs beneath the North Sea. ... UNITA sticker The União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) is an Angolan political faction. ... José Eduardo dos Santos Categories: People stubs | 1942 births | Angolan politicians | Cold War people | Heads of government | Presidents of Angola ... Executive Outcomes (EO) was a private military company, or mercenary company, founded by Eeben Barlow in 1989 and ceasing to exist in 1999. ...

Mann went on to establish Sandline International with Tim Spicer in 1996. The company operated mostly in Angola and Sierra Leone but in 1997 the Sandline received a commission from the government of Papua New Guinea to suppress a rebellion on the island of Bougainville and the company came to international prominence. Sandline International was a private security (military) company based in London, established in the early 1990s. ... Tim Spicer is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Scots Guards and CEO of the Private Security Company Aegis Defence Services. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location of North Solomons (Bougainville) Province in Papua New Guinea This article is about the island; Bougainville is also the name of a commune in the Somme département of France. ...

In 2002 Mann was asked to portray Colonel Wilford of the Parachute Regiment for Granada Television's Bloody Sunday, a dramatisation by Paul Greengrass of the events of Bloody Sunday. This was Mann's only venture into acting. For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The Parachute Regiments display team, the Red Devils at an American airshow The Parachute Regiment is the main body of elite airborne troops of the British Army. ... Current ITV Granada logo A Granada TV logo from the black and white era. ... Bloody Sunday is a film starring James Nesbitt about a Catholic civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. ... Paul Greengrass (b. ... For other incidents referred to by this name, see Bloody Sunday. ...

Sandline International announced the closure of the company's operations on April 16, 2004. April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On March 7, 2004 Simon Mann and 69 others were arrested in Zimbabwe when their Boeing 727 was seized by security forces during a stop-off at Harare airport where the aircraft was due to be loaded with £100,000 worth of weapons and equipment. The men were charged with violating the country’s immigration, firearms and security laws and later accused of engaging in an attempt to stage a coup-d'etat in Equatorial Guinea. Meanwhile eight suspected mercenaries, one of whom later died in prison, were detained in Equatorial Guinea in connection with the alleged plot. Mann and the others claimed that they were not on their way to Equatorial Guinea, but were in fact flying to the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to provide security for diamond mining industry. Mann and his colleagues were put on trial in Zimbabwe and on August 27 Mann was found guilty of attempting to buy arms for an alleged coup plot and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. Sixty-six of the other men were acquitted. March 7 is the 66th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (67th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Boeing 727 is a large, single-aisle (narrow-body) commercial jet airliner carrying as many as 189 passengers. ... Harare (formerly Salisbury), estimated population 5,480,645 (2004), is the capital of Zimbabwe. ... A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ... For other uses, including the shape â—Š, see Diamond (disambiguation). ... August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ...

On August 25, Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested at his home in Cape Town. He was eventually found guilty (under a plea bargain) to negligently supplying financial assistance for the plot. August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ... The Honourable Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born August 15, 1953), is the only son of Sir Denis Thatcher and Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minister. ... The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the head of government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... City motto: Spes Bona (Latin: Good Hope) Province Western Cape Mayor Helen Zille Area  - % water 2,499 km² N/A Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Ranked 100th 2,893,251 1,158/km² Established 1652 Time zone SAST (UTC+2) Calling code 021 edit Cape Town (Afrikaans: Kaapstad /ˈkɑːpstÉ‘t...

CNN reporting on the August 25, about the court case in Equatorial Guinea of the 14 alleged mercenary advanced guard that: The Cable News Network, usually referred to as CNN, is a cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. ... August 25 is the 237th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (238th in leap years), with 128 days remaining. ...

Defendant Nick du Toit said he was introduced to Thatcher in South Africa last year by Simon Mann, the leader of 70 men arrested in Zimbabwe in March suspected of being a group of mercenaries heading to Equatorial Guinea.

The BBC reported in an article entitled "Q&A: Equatorial Guinea coup plot": Nick du Toit is an arms dealer implicated in the plot to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC, sometimes also known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, founded in 1922. ...

The BBC's Newsnight television programme saw the financial records of Simon Mann's companies showing large payments to Nick du Toit and also some $2m coming in - though the source of this funding they say is largely untraceable.

The BBC reported on September 10, 2004 that in Zimbabwe: September 10 is the 253rd day of the year (254th in leap years). ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

[Simon Mann], the British leader of a group of 67 alleged mercenaries accused of plotting a coup in Equatorial Guinea has been sentenced to seven years in jail... The other passengers got 12 months in jail for breaking immigration laws while the two pilots got 16 months...The court also ordered the seizure of Mann's $3m Boeing 727 and $180,000 found on board.

Trivia

The alleged coup planned for Equatorial Guinea is the subject of the film Coup!, written by John Fortune. Simon Mann is played by Jared Harris, with Robert Bathurst as Mark Thatcher. (The film takes care not to suggest that Thatcher knew about the coup plot.) It was broadcast on BBC 2 on June 30th 2006. [1] John Fortune (born June 30, 1939) is a British satirist, comedian writer and actor. ... Jared Harris (born 24 August 1961, in London, UK) is a British actor of Irish and Welsh descent. ... Robert Bathurst as Mark in one of the fantasy stand-up sequences in Joking Apart Robert Bathurst (born 1958, Ghana) is a British actor. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Sandline
• Profile: Simon Mann, BBC
• Report of conviction, BBC
• report of conviction 28 August 2004, Reuters/CNN
• Q&A: Equatorial Guinea coup plot, BBC
• Report on sentencing August 2004, BBC
• Official website for Coup!, BBC

August 28 is the 240th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (241st in leap years), with 125 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY) is best known as a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ...

See also

• Executive Outcomes
• Mark Thatcher