Who is who in East Timor
On this page you will find a short biography of East Timorese prominent political leaders, East Timorese elders (Katuas Adat), East Timorese Kings and other figures. The biography is organised in alphabetical order under family name.
ALKATIRI, Mari.
Mari Alkatiri was born on 26 November, 1949 in Dili, East Timor. His family background is from the Middle East - Yemen. He is the general secretary of Fretilin. After Fretilin declared independence on 28 November 1975, Alkatiri together with Ramos Horta and Rogerio Lobato were sent abroad to lobby the UN and the international community about the independence. During the Indonesian occupation, he spent most of his life in Mozambique and studied law at Eduardo Mondlane University, Maputo. He later worked as a legal consultant.
He was not popular or known by many East Timorese both abroad and in East Timor until he became prime minister of East Timor from 2002 - 2006. He was forced to step down from prime minister after he sacked 500 soldiers from the army.
AMARAL, Francisco Xavier do.
Francisco Xavier do Amaral was the first President of the short lived Democratic of the Republic of East Timor in 1975. He is the founder of the Fretilin (Frente Revolicionaria de Timor Leste Independente). When Indonesia invaded the country in 1975, he fled into the mountains with other political leaders and the population. He surrendered to the Indonesian forces in 1978, who placed him under house arrest in Bali and Jakarta until Indonesia withdrew from East Timor in 1999.
Like other East Timorese leaders, he went back to East Timor after the majority of the East Timorese voted for independence in 1999. He re-established his party - ASDT (Associao Social Democratico de Timor) and ran against Xanana Gusmao in the presidential election in 2002 and he ran again for president in the 2007 presidential election - taking fourth place with 14.39% of the vote (Source: Wikipedia).
BELO, Carlos Felipe Ximenes.
Bishop Belo was born on 3 February 1948 in a small village called Wailakama in Vemasse, on the north cost of East Timor. He went to the seminary in Dare - Dili and graduated in 1968. After he was ordained as a priest in 1981, he returned to East Timor in 1981 where he became a teacher then director at the Salesian College at Fatumaka. In 1983, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Dili diocese, becoming head of the East Timor church. Then he was consecrated as a Bishop of Lorium, Italy in 1988.
After being consecrated as a Bishop, he was very outspoken about the issue of East Timor. He defended the East Timorese from the maltreatment of the Indonesian soldiers, and in 1989, he wrote to the President of Portugal, the Pope, and the UN Secretary-General, calling for a UN referendum on the future of the East Timor. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. Now he has resigned as Vicar Apostolic of Dili.
GUSMAO, Xanana.
His real name is Jose Alexandre Gusmao. Xanana is his revolutionary name. He was born on 20 June 1946 in Laleia, Manatuto, East Timor. He is the second son in a big family of nine children. Xanana's father was a primary school teacher. When he was young, Xanana went to Catholic school in Dare - Jesuit mission of Nossa Senhora De Datima. The mission of this school is to educate young East Timorese to become a priest, however Xanana left the school and started looking for a job in Dili.
During the Indonesian occupation, Xanana with his soldiers fought against the Indonesian military in a guerrilla warfare in the mountains until he was captured by the Indonesians in 1991. He was the Commander-in-Chief of the FALINTIL (Forcas Armadas da Libertacao Nacional de Timor Leste) - Armed Forces of National Liberation of East Timor. The Indonesians put him in Cipinang Prison from 1991 to 1999.
After East Timor became independent on 20 May 2002, he was elected as the first President of East Timor and currently serves as Prime Minister of East Timor.
GUTERRES, Francisco (Lu Olo).
Lu Olo was born on 7 September, 1955 in Ossu, Viqueque - the son of Felix Guterres and Elda da Costa Guterres. He is married with two children; Cidalino Guterres and Eldino Guterres.
He is a member of Fretilin. He spent 24 years in the jungle fighting against the Indonesian troops until 1999. He is currently studying law at National University of East Timor. He was president of the National Parliament of East Timor from 2002 - 2006, and currently he is a member of parliament,
LOBATO, Nicolau.
His full name is Nicolau dos Reis Lobato, born on 7 December 1952, in a small village called Bazartete, in East Timor. He was the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of East Timor from 28 November to 7 December 1975. After Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975, he and other political leaders took refuge in the mountains and fought against Indonesian forces. He was killed by the Indonesian forces in 1978.
RAMOS HORTA, Jose.
Jose Ramos Horta was born on 26 December, 1949 in East Timor to a Timorese mother and Portuguese father. He went to a Catholic school in a small village called Soibada, in East Timor. When he was young he used to work as a journalist in East Timor.
In 1975, Ramos Horta was appointed as foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of East Timor and sent abroad to seek international recognition of the new republic. Unfortunately, Indonesia invaded East Timor a few months later and Ramos Horta had to go to the United Nations in New York to tell them that Indonesia had invaded the Democratic of Republic of East Timor. From 1975 until up to 1999, he had to live in different countries to lobby United Nations and the international community to respect the right of East Timorese to self-determination.
. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.
After 24 years living in exile, he went back to East Timor in 1999 to serve his newly independent country. He was appointed as foreign minister in Mari Alkatiri's cabinet from 2002 - 2005 then in 2006 he served as Prime Minister for a short period after Mari Alkatiri resigned from Prime Minister because of the violence in 2006. In the 2007 presidential election, he won the majority of the vote and became the second President of East Timor. He has been working hard to unite the East Timorese political leaders since the violence broke out in 2006, and went to the bush to negotiate with the rebel leader, Alfredo Reinado, yet Reinado with some of his soldiers attacked his house on 11 February 2007 and shot him several times which nearly cost his life.