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.
VIII Constitutional Government | |
|---|---|
 VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor | |
 | |
| Date formed | 22 June 2018 |
| Date dissolved | 1 July 2023 |
| People and organisations | |
| Presidents |
|
| Prime Minister | Taur Matan Ruak |
| No. of ministers |
|
| Member parties | |
| Status in legislature |
|
| History | |
| Election(s) | 2018 |
| Predecessor | VII Constitutional Government |
| Successor | IX Constitutional Government |
Initial (AMP) composition (22 June 2018–24 June 2020)
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
| Party | Minister | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLP | Taur Matan Ruak |  | ||
| CNRT | Hermenegildo Ágio Pereira |  | ||
| PLP | Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães |  |
| |
| CNRT | Dionísio da Costa Babo Soares |  |
| |
| Independent | Manuel Cárceres da Costa |  | ||
| CNRT | Dulce de Jesus Soares |  |
| |
| PLP | Longuinhos dos Santos |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Armanda Berta dos Santos |  | ||
| Independent | Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires |  | ||
| KHUNTO | José Agustinho da Silva |  | ||
| KHUNTO | Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins |  | ||
| Independent | Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus |  | ||
Deputy Ministers
| Party | Deputy Minister[note 1] | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNRT | Sara Lobo Brites |  |
| |
| CNRT | Abílio José Caetano |  |
| |
| CNRT | Élia dos Reis Amaral |  |
| |
| PLP | Bonifácio dos Reis |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | João Zacarias Freitas Soares |  |
| |
| PLP | Signi Verdial |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Nicolau Lino Freitas Belo |  |
| |
Secretaries of State
| Party | Secretary of State | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KHUNTO | Julião da Silva |  |
| |
| CNRT | Arsénio Pereira da Silva |  |
| |
| PLP | Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho |  |
| |
| PLP | Merício Juvenal dos Reis Akara |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Mário Ximenes |  |
| |
| CNRT | Nélio Isaac Sarmento |  |
| |
| PLP | Teófilo Caldas |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Gil da Costa Monteiro Oan Soru |  |
| |
| Independent | Alexandrino de Araújo |  |
| |
| PLP | Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus |  |
| |
Restructured composition (24 June 2020–1 July 2023)
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
Deputy Ministers
| Party | Deputy Minister[note 1] | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Sara Lobo Brites | | ||
| António Freitas |  | |||
| KHUNTO | Julião da Silva |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | José Edmundo Caetano |  |
| |
| Fretilin | Lino de Jesus Torrezão |  |
| |
| PLP | Bonifácio Maucoli dos Reis |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | António Guterres | _small_2020.jpg) |
| |
| PLP | Signi Chandrawati Verdial |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Nicolau Lino Freitas Belo |  |
| |
| Fretilin | Inácia da Conceição Teixeira |  |
| |
| Fretilin | Domingos Lopes Antunes |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Abílio Xavier de Araújo |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | António Armindo |  |
| |
Secretaries of State
| Party | Secretary of State | Portrait | Portfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KHUNTO | Alarico de Rosário |  |
| |
| Fretilin | Elizário Ferreira |  |
| |
| PLP | Demetrio do Amaral de Carvalho |  |
| |
| PLP | Merício Juvenal dos Reis "Akara" |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Mário Ximenes |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Eldino Rodrigues dos Santos |  |
| |
| Fretilin | Abrão Saldanha |  |
| |
| PLP | Teófilo Caldas | |
| |
| KHUNTO | Gil da Costa Monteiro "Oan Soru" | | ||
| Júlio da Conceição "Loro Mesak" | .jpg) | |||
| KHUNTO | Elídio de Araújo |  |
| |
| KHUNTO | Joaquim José Gusmão dos Reis Martins | |
| |
| PLP | Maria José da Fonseca Monteiro de Jesus | |
| |
| PLP | Maria do Rosário Fátima Correia |  |
| |
References
Footnote
Notes
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.
External links
- 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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