Cabinet of East Timor

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The coat of arms of East Timor

The East Timorese cabinet forms the government of East Timor (Timor-Leste). The constitutional governments are numbered with Roman numerals. The 8th government has been in office since 2018 .

Cabinet 1975

The government palace in the 1960s

On November 28, 1975 FRETILIN unilaterally proclaimed the independence of Portuguese Timor from Portugal and proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste . On November 30th, the FRETILIN Central Committee set up a government. On December 7th, the Indonesian armed forces launched a major attack and the government had to flee. From 1975 to 1999 the country was annexed as the province of Timor Timur , and the government acted underground.

I. Transitional government under the United Nations 2000–2001

In 1999 the Indonesian occupation ended and the United Nations took over administration of East Timor. On July 12, 2000, the National Consultative Council (NCC) appointed by the UN Special Envoy for East Timor Sérgio Vieira de Mello set up the first transitional government of East Timor. Mello headed the government as an administrator. His cabinet consisted of five other foreign members and six ministers from East Timor. The government ran the business until September 30, 2001.

II. Transitional government under the United Nations 2001–2002

On September 20, 2001, the Second Transitional Government of East Timor took over the official business under the UN Special Representative for East Timor Sérgio Vieira de Mello. Mari Alkatiri , the General Secretary of FRETILIN , which won the elections for the constituent assembly on August 30, 2001 with an absolute majority, became chief minister . Except for Mello, all members of the extended East Timorese government were now members, mostly members of FRETILIN.

I. Government: May 20, 2002 - June 26, 2006

The Government Palace 2002

Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, with the support of an absolute majority of FRETILIN, led a cabinet in East Timor's national parliament from 2002 to 2006, which largely consisted of FRETILIN members and a few independent politicians. Alkatiri fell over the 2006 riots in East Timor after several members of the government resigned in protest against the prime minister.

Government II: July 14, 2006 - May 18, 2007

On July 10, the non-party José Ramos-Horta was sworn in as his successor. On July 14th, his cabinet, which still included numerous FRETILIN politicians, was presented. On May 19, 2007, Ramos-Horta resigned as Prime Minister after winning the 2007 East Timor presidential election . On May 20, 2007, Ramos-Horta was sworn in as President .

III. Government: May 19, 2007 - August 8, 2007

Estanislau da Silva from FRETILIN , who had previously been Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, took over from José Ramos-Horta on May 19, 2007. Silva held his office until the fourth government was sworn in after the parliamentary elections on June 30, 2007 .

IV. Government: August 8, 2007 - August 8, 2012

After the parliamentary elections on June 30, 2007 , FRETILIN was again the largest party in the national parliament , but had lost its absolute majority. Xanana Gusmão therefore joined the government coalition " Aliança da Maioria Parlamentar AMP " ( Alliance of the Parliamentary Majority ) from his Congresso Nacional da Reconstrução Timorense CNRT, the Coligação Associação Social-Democrata de Timor ASDT / Partido Social Democrata PSD and the Partido Democrático PD . In 2008, the UNDERTIM joined the AMP. The General Secretary of FRETILIN Marí Alkatiri and his party denied that the government was constitutional because, in their opinion, only the strongest party in parliament could provide the prime minister. Members of other parties also belonged to the cabinet, including internal opponents of Alkatiris from FRETILIN. In 2011, the Alkatiri opponents founded their own party, the Frenti-Mudança . The ASDT threatened to leave the coalition for a while and to work with FRETILIN. Since UNDERTIM joined the coalition, the ASDT's move would have had no consequences for the majority of the AMP in parliament.

V. Government: August 8, 2012 - February 16, 2015

The Government Palace 2013

In the parliamentary elections in 2012 , Gusmãos Congresso Nacional da Reconstrução Timorense CNRT overtook the opposition party FRETILIN for the first time and became the strongest force in East Timor's national parliament . While the coalition partner Partido Democrático PD was able to assert itself, the Associação Social-Democrata de Timor ASDT and the Partido Social Democrata PSD failed at the four percent hurdle after they had been conspicuous in the previous legislative period, mainly due to arguments. The FRETILIN spin-off Frenti-Mudança FM , which formed a coalition with CNRT and PD, was new in parliament .

VI. Government (February 16, 2015 - September 15, 2017)

Although Rui Maria de Araújo belongs to the opposition party FRETILIN, he was proposed by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão as his successor during the current legislative period. As a result, all parties in parliament were now involved in government: CNRT, FRETILIN, PD and FM. Gusmão took a ministerial post in the government.

VII Government (September 15, 2017 - June 22, 2018)

In his second term as Prime Minister, Marí Alkatiri leads a minority government made up of FRETILIN and PD. The KHUNTO had jumped in the short term due to internal disputes and instead it formed with CNRT and Partidu Libertasaun Popular (PLP), the Aliança da Maioria parlamentar ( German  Alliance of parliamentary majority ) and the opposition alliance. The first government program was rejected by the parliament through the AMP, as was the draft state budget 2018 twice. Parliamentary President Aniceto Guterres Lopes (FRETILIN) set the government a deadline of January 18, 2018 to submit a new government program to parliament. It never came to that. Instead, President Francisco Guterres decided to dissolve Parliament on January 26, 2018. The early elections on May 12, 2018 resulted in an absolute majority for the AMP.

VIII Government (since June 22, 2018)

Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak and President Francisco Guterres

Three weeks after the early elections, the AMP nominated Taur Matan Ruak , chairman of the PLP and former president as its candidate for prime ministerial office. He was sworn in on June 22, 2018 with 27 of his cabinet members. Eleven other people proposed by Taur Matan Ruak were not accepted by President Guterres, which is why several positions in the cabinet remained vacant for years. Finally, in 2020, the CNRT tried to overthrow the government by forming a new coalition, but failed when PLP and KHUNTO merged with FRETILIN instead. One of the new cabinet members is a representative of the PD.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Website of the government of Timor-Leste: II Constitutional Government (English)
  2. ↑ Website of the government of Timor-Leste: III Constitutional Government (English)
  3. ↑ Diário de Notícias: Presidente do parlamento timorense dá 30 dias ao Governo para reapresentar programa , December 18, 2017 , accessed on December 18, 2017.
  4. ↑ e-global.pt: Timor-Leste: Taur Matan Ruak nomeado primeiro ministro timorense , June 1, 2018 , accessed on June 5, 2018.