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Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace

The Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace (Portuguese: Palácio Presidencial Nicolau Lobato, Tetum: Palásiu Prezidensiál Nicolau Lobato) is the official workplace of the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. It is located in Avenida Presidente Nicolau Lobato [de], Bairro Pite [de], a suco of Dili, the capital city of East Timor, and has been the workplace of the President since 2009.

Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace
  • Palácio Presidencial Nicolau Lobato (Portuguese)
  • Palásiu Prezidensiál Nicolau Lobato (Tetum)
The palace in 2023
The palace in 2023
Map
General information
TypePresidential palace
Architectural styleModernist
AddressAvenida Presidente Nicolau Lobato [de], Bairro Pite [de]
Town or cityDili
CountryEast Timor
Coordinates8°33′19″S 125°33′47″E / 8.55535°S 125.56307°E / -8.55535; 125.56307
Current tenantsJosé Ramos-Horta
Construction started2 July 2007 (2007-07-02)
CompletedApril 2009
Inaugurated27 August 2009
ClientPresident of East Timor
OwnerGovernment of East Timor
Website
President of the Republic
Logo

History

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When East Timor resumed independence in May 2002, the new President, Xanana Gusmão, considered that he needed to have a presidential office discrete from the one occupied by the Constitutional Government, then headed by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri.[1][2] Gusmão therefore set up a separate presidential office in a burned-out building, which he named the Palácio das Cinzas (transl. Palace of Ashes).[2]

However, the President did not also intend that this makeshift and unconventional office arrangement would be permanent. By 2003, plans had already been drawn up for a more comfortable palace, and the Chinese government had offered to help fund its construction.[3][4][5]

 
The present day Avenida Presidente Nicolau Lobato [de] in February 2000, with Kampung Alor in the foreground. The presidential palace now stands in Bairro Pite [de] on the site of the heliport

The foundation-laying ceremony for the new palace was held on 2 July 2007. At that time, its intended name was "Palace of Hope" (Portuguese: Palácio da Esperança); the then Chinese ambassador to East Timor, Su Jian, said that the name marked the youngest country embracing challenges and marching towards a bright future.[6]

During the twilight years of the Portuguese colonial era, the location where the palace now stands was the site of Dili's first airport,[7] which was later transformed into a heliport. As of July 2007, the site was still being used as a helicopter base, by the Australian-led Operation Astute stabilisation force. Construction of the palace began after the Australians moved out.[6]

In April 2009, the building work on the palace was completed.[8] The construction cost, funded with Chinese aid, was $6 million.[9] The palace was inaugurated on 27 August 2009. Three days later, on 30 August 2009, the then President of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, announced that it had been named Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace.[10][11]

Since its inauguration, the palace and the grounds surrounding it have been affected by flooding on several occasions, including in March 2020[12] and April 2021.[13]

In April 2015, a Portuguese architectural firm, Gonçalo Lencastre Arquitectos, announced a project intended to "endow the Presidency of the Republic of Timor-Leste with a physical space with the necessary dignity and functionality", by upgrading and expanding existing structures, including the palace complex. The firm had won a worldwide competition for the project, which encompassed works valued at more than € 20 million.[11][14][15]

The project included a new Presidential Residence and Museum of the Presidency, as well as a military barracks, a Military House and other buildings. One of the architects involved in the project, Cristina Picoto, explained that the buildings would all be 1 metre (3 ft 3 in) off the ground to avoid flooding, and were not intended to be "monumental in scale". Speaking at the project's announcement, the then Chief of Staff of the President, Fidélis Magalhães, said that its execution would be phased, with a multi-annual plan of 10 or 20 years, depending on budgetary capacity. [16]

Description

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The palace in 2014, with its roof still in its original blue colour

The palace and its grounds are located in Avenida Presidente Nicolau Lobato [de], in the suco of Bairro Pite [de], west of Dili's city centre. The grounds are approximately 9 ha (22 acres) in area.[17]

The name of both the palace and the Avenida honours Nicolau Lobato, former leader of the Fretilin political party and the armed resistance to the Indonesian occupation of East Timor; the announcement of the name was made on the tenth anniversary of the referendum at which the people of East Timor had voted for independence from Indonesia.[10][11]

The palace is two storeys high, and is in the shape of a letter U. Its design is a combination of Timorese vernacular architecture and modern styles. Its main entrance is decorated in a traditional pattern, and the roof directly above it is shaped like that of an Uma Lulik [de], the traditional animist reliquary house found in the villages of East Timor. At the rear of the palace are gardens.[17]

The palace serves as the official workplace of the President. However, it is not also an official residence.[18] At the time it was being built, East Timor could not afford to provide its President or Prime Minister with such a residence, and they both lived in their own homes.[19] Additionally, Ramos-Horta had announced an unwillingness to move into the Palácio de Lahane, the former official residence of the Governor of Portuguese Timor, which had recently been refurbished.[18][20]

In the entrance hall of the palace is an exhibition, 'Lost World' (Portuguese: O Mondo Perdido), prepared by the Science Centre of Monash University, Australia, with support from ConocoPhillips and the Australian Defence Force.[21] The exhibition focuses on East Timor's very ancient past,[22] and includes various models and relics.[21] Its star attraction is a skeleton of a Tarbosaurus bataar, which was excavated in Mongolia and included in the exhibition at Ramos-Horta's request.[23] The exhibition was previously displayed at the Municipal Market of Dili until that building was converted into a convention centre, and is expected to remain at the palace until the completion of the proposed National Museum of East Timor.[21]

References

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  1. ^ Staff writer (29 October 2002). "Gusmao sets the tone with his Palace of Ashes". The Age. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ a b Nuttall, Ruth (2021). "4. Independence and the politics of exclusion 2002-2005". Political Continuity and Conflict in East Timor: A History of the 2006 Crisis. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. ISBN 9780367647780.
  3. ^ Donnan, Shawn (29 November 2003). "Gusmao Says Much Can Be Achieved from Ashes". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  4. ^ Mydans, Seth (26 July 2007). "Aid From China Builds an Ally in East Timor". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. ^ Chou, Jennifer (4 February 2008). "China Cultivates an Ally". Washington Examiner. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Timor-Leste to build Presidential Palace with Chinese fund". People's Daily Online. Xinhua. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. ^ jdLux (22 November 2015). "40 anos/Timor-Leste: A rádio que deu as primeiras informações da invasão indonésia" [40 years/Timor-Leste: The radio that gave the first information about the Indonesian invasion]. Jornal do Luxemburgo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  8. ^ "East Timor Legal News". www.etan.org. 17 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  9. ^ Zhu, Zhiqun (2013). China's New Diplomacy: Rationale, Strategies and Significance (2nd ed.). Abingdon, Oxon, UK: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 9781472413680.
  10. ^ a b Staff writer (30 August 2009). "Ramos-Horta pede à Indonésia devolução de corpo do Nicolau Lobato" [Ramos-Horta asks Indonesia to return Nicolau Lobato's body]. Notícias Lusófonas (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "Arquitetos portugueses projetam ampliação do Palácio Presidencial timorense" [Portuguese architects plan the expansion of the Timorese Presidential Palace]. SAPO 24 (in Portuguese). Lusa. 9 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Cheias em Díli provocaram pelo menos dois mortos e três feridos" [Floods in Dili left at least two dead and three injured]. RTP Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa. 14 March 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Dozens dead as torrential rain leads to floods and landslides in Indonesia and Timor-Leste". ABC News. Reuters. 4 April 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Palácio Presidencial Nicolau Lobato expansion". GLA. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  15. ^ "Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace". Risco. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. ^ "Ampliação complexo presidencial timorense será "integrada mas faseada"" [Expansion of the Timorese presidential complex will be "integrated but phased"]. SAPO 24 (in Portuguese). Lusa. 10 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace". Alluring World. 23 February 2017. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  18. ^ a b Horta, Loro (3 September 2014) [17 June 2009]. "CO09059 | Love-Hate Relationship: Australia, Timor and a Rising China - RSIS". S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  19. ^ Barker, Anne (15 February 2008). "Rudd arrives in E Timor". ABC News. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Reconstrução do Palácio de Lahane e construção da Residência Oficial em Timor-Leste" [Reconstruction of Lahane Palace and construction of the Official Residence in Timor-Leste]. União das Cidades Capitais de Língua Portuguesa [Union of Portuguese-Speaking Capital Cities] (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  21. ^ a b c Brown, Richard (August 2009). Report on a visit to Timor-Leste 4-18 July 2009 (PDF). Moreland and Hume, Vic: Friends of Aileu. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 March 2019.
  22. ^ Vickers-Rich, Patricia; Trusler, Peter; Gelt, Draga (2010). O Mundo Perdido Timor-Leste Exhibition Visitors Guide (PDF). Clayton, Vic: Monash Science Centre, Monash University. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2022.
  23. ^ Malathi (8 October 2016). "6 Fascinating Things To Do In Timor-Leste". TravelTourXP.com. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
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