VIII_Constitutional_Government_of_East_Timor
VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor
East Timorese cabinet led by Taur Matan Ruak
The VIII Constitutional Government (Portuguese: VIII Governo Constitucional, Tetum: VIII Governu Konstitusionál) was the eighth Constitutional Government (administration or cabinet) under the Constitution of East Timor. Formed on 22 June 2018, and restructured in mid-2020, it was led by the country's seventh Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, and was replaced by the IX Constitutional Government on 1 July 2023.
Quick Facts Date formed, Date dissolved ...
VIII Constitutional Government | |
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 VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor | |
| Date formed | 22 June 2018 (2018-06-22) |
| Date dissolved | 1 July 2023 (2023-07-01) |
| People and organisations | |
| Presidents |
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| Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak |
| No. of ministers |
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| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature |
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| History | |
| Election(s) | 2018 |
| Predecessor | VII Constitutional Government |
| Successor | IX Constitutional Government |
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Initially, the VIII Constitutional Government was drawn from and supported by a coalition known as the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP), which was made up of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), the People's Liberation Party (PLP) and Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO).[1]
The Ministers, Deputy Ministers[note 1] and Secretaries of State appointed to form the government as from 22 June 2018 until the government was restructured in mid-2020 were:[2][3]
Ministers
More information Party, Minister ...
| Party | Minister | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLP | Taur Matan Ruak |  |
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| CNRT | Hermenegildo Ágio Pereira |  |
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| PLP | Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães |  |
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| CNRT | Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares |  |
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| Independent | Manuel Cárceres da Costa |  |
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| CNRT | Dulce de Jesus Soares |  |
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| PLP | Longuinhos dos Santos |  |
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| KHUNTO | Armanda Berta dos Santos |  |
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| Independent | Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires |  |
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| KHUNTO | José Agustinho da Silva |  |
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| KHUNTO | Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins |  |
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| Independent | Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus |  |
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Deputy Ministers
More information Party, Deputy Minister ...
| Party | Deputy Minister[note 1] | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNRT | Sara Lobo Brites |  |
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| CNRT | Abílio José Caetano |  |
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| CNRT | Élia dos Reis Amaral [de] |  |
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| PLP | Bonifácio dos Reis [de] |  |
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| KHUNTO | João Zacarias Freitas Soares |  |
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| PLP | Signi Verdial [de] |  |
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| KHUNTO | Nicolau Lino Freitas Belo |  |
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Secretaries of State
More information Party, Secretary of State ...
| Party | Secretary of State | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KHUNTO | Julião da Silva |  |
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| CNRT | Arsénio Pereira da Silva |  |
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| PLP | Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho |  |
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| PLP | Merício Juvenal dos Reis Akara |  |
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| KHUNTO | Mário Ximenes |  |
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| CNRT | Nélio Isaac Sarmento [de] |  |
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| PLP | Teófilo Caldas |  |
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| KHUNTO | Gil da Costa Monteiro Oan Soru |  |
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| Independent | Alexandrino de Araújo |  |
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| PLP | Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus [de] |  |
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Following a breakdown of the AMP coalition during the first few months of 2020, the government was restructured on 12 May 2020,[4][5] new officials were appointed on 29 May[7][8] and 24 June 2020.[9]
At the swearing-in ceremony held on 29 May 2020, the Prime Minister said that the swearing-in of the government's new members aimed to "ensure the restoration of governing normality".[10] He added that the Government intended:
"... with this reshaping, to pave the way for political stability that allows the contribution and involvement of all Timorese, regardless of the ideology they have, the party of which they are members or the aspirations they have towards the country."[10]
He also said that:
"...the construction of the future of our nation does not dispense with the contribution of any Timorese and it is with awareness of this fact that the Eight Constitutional Government opens itself to the participation of new political forces in an effort of concertation and dialogue that is fundamental to ensure that Timor-Leste and the Timorese can aspire to a more prosperous and happy future."[10]
Since the government's restructure, the Ministers, Deputy Ministers[note 1] and Secretaries of State in the government have been as stated in the tables below.[11][12]
In March 2022, six officials in the government were replaced. The first four replacement officials were sworn in on 22 March 2022,[13][14][15][16] and the remaining two on 31 March 2022.[17] Details of all of those officials, including the dates of their cessation or commencement in office, are included in the tables below.[14][15][16][17]
On 1 July 2023, the government was replaced by the IX Constitutional Government.[18]
Ministers
More information Party, Minister ...
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Deputy Ministers
More information Party, Deputy Minister ...
| Party | Deputy Minister[note 1] | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Sara Lobo Brites | |||
| António Freitas [de] | ||||
| KHUNTO | Julião da Silva |
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| KHUNTO | José Edmundo Caetano |
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| Fretilin | Lino de Jesus Torrezão |
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| PLP | Bonifácio Maucoli dos Reis |
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| KHUNTO | António Guterres |
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| PLP | Signi Chandrawati Verdial |
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| KHUNTO | Nicolau Lino Freitas Belo |
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| Fretilin | Inácia da Conceição Teixeira |
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| Fretilin | Domingos Lopes Antunes |
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| KHUNTO | Abílio Xavier de Araújo |
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| KHUNTO | António Armindo |
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Secretaries of State
More information Party, Secretary of State ...
| Party | Secretary of State | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KHUNTO | Alarico de Rosário |
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| Fretilin | Elizário Ferreira |
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| PLP | Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho |
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| PLP | Merício Juvenal dos Reis "Akara" |
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| KHUNTO | Mário Ximenes |
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| KHUNTO | Eldino Rodrigues dos Santos [de] |
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| Fretilin | Abrão Saldanha |
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| PLP | Teófilo Caldas |
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| KHUNTO | Gil da Costa Monteiro "Oan Soru" | |||
| Júlio da Conceição "Loro Mesak" | ||||
| KHUNTO | Elídio de Araújo |
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| KHUNTO | Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins |
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| PLP | Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus [de] |
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| PLP | Maria do Rosário Fátima Correia [de] |
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Footnote
- The Constitution of East Timor provides, in sections 104 and 105, for the appointment of officials referred to in its English language version as "Deputy Ministers". In other English language publications, those officials are commonly referred to as "Vice Ministers", even though the word "Vice", in context, arguably has a different meaning in English from the word "Deputy". In this article, the constitutional expression "Deputy" is used.
Notes
- "Primeiro grupo de membros do VIII Governo timorense tomou posse em Díli" [First group of members of the VIII Timorese Government take office in Dili] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- "Transitional Ministerial Administration". Government of Timor-Leste. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- Soares Martins, Evaristo (14 May 2020). "PM Taur Matan Ruak Gains Two Deputies in Government Restructure". Tatoli. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- Sanchez, Hortencio (25 May 2020). "Foreign Minister Dionísio Soares Among Five MPs to Resign From Cabinet". Tatoli. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
- Ximenes, Florencio Miranda; Gusmão, Antónia (6 April 2020). "'I lost my Trust in her': PM Taur Explains Élia Amaral Sacking". Tatoli. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- Colo, Cipriano (29 May 2020). "Eight New Members Sworn into TL Cabinet". Tatoli. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "Presidente timorense dá posse a oito novos membros do Governo" [Timorese President swears in eight new members of the Government]. RTP News (in Portuguese). Lusa. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- "Swearing-In and organic structure of the Eight Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "New members of the Government sworn-in". Government of Timor-Leste. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
- "Structure of the VIII Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- "Timor-Leste's Eighth Constitutional Government (updated 17 July 2020)". La'o Hamutuk website. La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
- Gusmão, Antónia (8 March 2022). "Prime Minister Ruak to reshuffle his cabinet in the near future". Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- Martins, Filomeno (17 March 2022). "Prime Minister Ruak's cabinet reshuffle is underway". Tatoli. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- Martins, Filomeno (22 March 2022). "'Lú Olo' calls on newly appointed cabinet members to better serve Timorese people". Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- "Swearing-in of the four new members of Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
- "Swearing-in of two new Secretaries of State". Government of Timor-Leste. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 11 April 2022.
- Martins, Filomeno (29 June 2023). "Gusmão presents list of members of next Govt to President Horta". Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
- "Lú Olo swearing-in of the New Minister of Finance Rui Gomes". Tatoli website. Tatoli. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
Further reading
- Cardoso, João da Cruz (13 April 2021). "Dili floods a costly consequence of poor urban planning". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- —————————— (16 November 2021). "Planning for progress in Timor-Leste". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- Da Costa, Nelson (10 March 2020). "East Timor coalition ready to form government led by Xanana Gusmao". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Graça Feijó, Rui (24 December 2020). "Timor-Leste's COVID-19 success and sweeping political change". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Guardian staff and agencies (25 February 2020). "Timor-Leste prime minister offers resignation after political coalition collapses". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
- Kehoe, John (1 August 2022). "Leaked report backs East Timor for Woodside's Sunrise gas project". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
- Kingsbury, Damien (13 December 2018). "Hard times ahead for a politically divided Timor-Leste". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ————————— (1 January 2022). "Timor-Leste defies the odds for stability in 2021". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Leach, Michael (14 August 2018a). "A first test for Timor-Leste's cohabitants". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (14 December 2018b). "In Timor-Leste, an eventful year ends in tension". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (20 January 2020). "In Timor-Leste, failed budget sparks a political crisis". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ——————— (24 February 2020). "Back to the future in Dili". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (31 March 2020). "A political impasse in Timor-Leste as coronavirus looms". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ——————— (5 May 2020). "Xanana Gusmão's new parliamentary coalition collapses". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (2 June 2020). "Out of turmoil, a new majority in Timor-Leste's parliament". Inside Story. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
- ——————— (19 February 2021). "East Timorese politics in flux". Inside Story. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
- ——————— (23 April 2021). "Timor-Leste's floods and Covid lockdown aggravate political rifts". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
- ——————— (24 January 2022). "Timor-Leste's floods and Covid lockdown aggravate political rifts". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
- Magalhães, Fidelis (19 May 2021). "Lessons from the recent cyclone in Timor-Leste". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- Neves, Guteriano (3 April 2020). "Timor-Leste: The consequences of Covid-19". The Interpreter. Lowy Institute. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- Scott, Jason (29 August 2019). "A $12 Billion Gas Project Could Make or Break This Young Nation". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
- Sim, Tze Wei (19 November 2019). "Old Chinese, new Chinese and the China factor in Timor-Leste". ThinkChina. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- Sjöholm, Fredrik (19 September 2020). "Timor-Leste's precarious route to development". East Asia Forum. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- Program of the Eighth Constitutional Government – Government of East Timor
- Timor-Leste's Eighth Constitutional Government – La’o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis
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