Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (East Timor)

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (Portuguese: Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Cooperação, Tetum: Ministru Negósius Estranjeirus no Kooperasaun) is a senior member of the Constitutional Government of East Timor heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
  • Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros e Cooperação (Portuguese)
  • Ministru Negósius Estranjeirus no Kooperasaun (Tetum)
Incumbent
Bendito Freitas [de]
since 1 July 2023
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation
Style
Member ofConstitutional Government
Reports toPrime Minister
AppointerPresident of East Timor
(following proposal by the Prime Minister of East Timor)
Inaugural holderJosé Ramos-Horta
Formation1975 / 2000

Functions

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Under the Constitution of East Timor, the Minister has the power and the duty:

  1. to implement the policy defined for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation;
  2. to ensure relations between the Government and the other organs of the State in the area of responsibility of the Ministry.[1]

Where the Minister is in charge of the subject matter of a government statute, the Minister is also required, together with the Prime Minister, to sign the statute.[1]

History

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In the 1975 Council of Ministers,[2] and also in the I UNTAET Transitional Government (2000–2001),[3][4][5] the title of the Minister was "Minister of Foreign Affairs". When the II UNTAET Transitional Government took office on 20 September 2001, the title was changed to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.[6]

Incumbent

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The incumbent minister is Bendito Freitas [de].[7][8]

List of ministers

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The following individuals have been appointed as the minister:

No. Party Minister Portrait Government
(Prime Minister)
Term start Term end Term in office
1 Fretilin José Ramos-Horta   1975 CoM
(Lobato)
1 December 1975 17 December 1975 16 days
(1) Independent José Ramos-Horta   I UNTAET
(Vieira de Mello)
15 July 2000 31 March 2001 259 days
15 July 2001 20 September 2001 4 years, 360 days
II UNTAET
(Alkatiri)
20 September 2001 20 May 2002
I Constitutional
(Alkatiri)
20 May 2002 10 July 2006
2 Fretilin José Luís Guterres   II Constitutional
(Ramos-Horta)
10 July 2006 19 May 2007 313 days
(acting) Adaljíza Magno   III Constitutional
(da Silva)
19 May 2007 8 August 2007 81 days
3 PSD Zacarias da Costa   IV Constitutional
(Gusmão)
8 August 2007 8 August 2012 5 years, 0 days
(2) FM José Luís Guterres   V Constitutional
(Gusmão)
8 August 2012 16 February 2015 2 years, 192 days
4 Fretilin Hernâni Coelho   VI Constitutional
(Araújo)
16 February 2015 15 September 2017 2 years, 211 days
5 Aurélio Sérgio Cristóvão Guterres   VII Constitutional
(Alkatiri)
15 September 2017 22 June 2018 280 days
6 CNRT Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares   VIII Constitutional
(Ruak)
22 June 2018 25 May 2020 1 year, 338 days
7 Fretilin Adaljíza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno   VIII Constitutional
(Ruak)
(restructured)
24 June 2020 1 July 2023 3 years, 7 days
8 CNRT Bendito Freitas [de]   IX Constitutional
(Gusmão)
1 July 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 127 days

References

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Constitution of East Timor, Section 117" (PDF). Government of Timor-Leste. 20 May 2002. Retrieved 18 January 2022.   This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ Fox 2004.
  3. ^ "First meeting of Transitional Cabinet". peacekeeping.un.org. 17 July 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  4. ^ "UNTAET, East Timor shape new cabinet and legislative body". Tais Timor. 1 (12). 6 August 2000. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  5. ^ Beuman, Lydia (2016). Political Institutions in East Timor: Semi-Presidentialism and Democratisation. Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 9781138950337.
  6. ^ "II UNTAET Transitional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  7. ^ Martins, Filomeno (30 June 2023). "The list of structure of IX Constitutional Government announced in Official Gazette". Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  8. ^ Sousa, Nelson de (1 July 2023). "PR Horta sei akompaña serbisu IX Governu" [President Horta will accompany the work of the IX Government] (in Tetum). Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

Bibliography

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