East Timor | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2002 | |||||||||
_-_TLS_-_UNOCHA.svg) Location of East Timor at the end of theIndonesian archipelago. | |||||||||
| Status | United Nations administered territory | ||||||||
| Capital | Dili | ||||||||
| Common languages | Tetum Portuguese Indonesian English | ||||||||
| Transitional Administrator | |||||||||
• 1999 | Ian Martin | ||||||||
• 1999–2002 | Sérgio Vieira de Mello | ||||||||
| Chief Minister | |||||||||
• 2001–2002 | Mari Alkatiri | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 25 October 1999 | |||||||||
| 20 May 2002 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 15,007 km2 (5,794 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• | 947,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | United States dollar | ||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | TL | ||||||||
| |||||||||
United Nations Administered East Timor refers to the period when Between 25 October 1999 and 20 May 2002Timor-Leste was governed by theUnited Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor as aUnited Nationsadministered territory.
East Timor was colonised byPortugal in the mid-16th century and administered asPortuguese Timor. Following theCarnation Revolution in Portugal, East Timor unilaterally declared independence as theDemocratic Republic of East Timor on 28 November 1975, but wasinvaded by Indonesia 7 December 1975. East Timor wasoccupied by Indonesia and administered asTimor Timur province. The invasion wasnot recognized as legal by the United Nations, which continued to regard Portugal as the legal Administering Power of East Timor. In 1999, in aUN-sponsored referendum, an overwhelming majority of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. Immediately following the referendum,Pro-Indonesia militias commenced ascorched earth campaign triggering the1999 East Timorese crisis. AnInternational Force for East Timor was deployed to the territory to bring the violence to an end. Indonesia formally rescinded its annexation on 19 October 1999 and a United Nationstransitional administration was subsequently established on 25 October 1999 bySecurity Council Resolution 1272 to administer the territory untilindependence on 20 May 2002.
A fifteen memberNational Consultative Council was established in December 1999 by UNTAET REG 1999/2,[1] and served as a forum for East Timorese political and community leaders to advise the Transitional Administrator and discuss policy issues. The Council had eleven Timorese members and four international members. A Transitional Judicial Service Commission was also established to ensure representation of East Timorese leaders in decisions affecting the judiciary in East Timor. The Commission was made up of three Timorese representatives and two international experts.[2]
Part ofa series on the |
|---|
| History ofTimor-Leste |
.jpg) |
| Chronology |
| Topics |
.svg) Asia portal |
In July 2000 the membership of the renamedNational Council was expanded to 33 members including, one representative from each of the 13 districts of East Timor.[3] All the members were now Timorese and represented the main political parties and religious communities of East Timor. The National Council became a legislature style body and had the right to debate any future regulations issued by UNTAET.Mário Viegas Carrascalão was the speaker of the National Council.
On 15 July 2000, an executive bodyTransitional Cabinet was formed comprising four Timorese members and four international members.[4][5]
Progress was made in the development of a judicial system with a Prosecutor General's Office and a Defender Service established. District Courts and Court of Appeal were also established.
A voter registration process was completed during this period and preparations were made for elections to a Constituent Assembly that would prepare East Timor for independence expected in 2002.
Elections for an 88-memberConstituent Assembly[6] were held on 30 August 2001, the second anniversary of the autonomy referendum, which resulted in a majority of seats for theFretilin party. The Assembly nominated aCouncil of Ministers[7] the following month. The Council of Ministers had 24 members and was led byChief MinisterMari Alkatiri.
The Constituent Assembly completed work on a draft constitution and this was promulgated in March 2002,[8] the Assembly would serve as the parliament of East Timor following independence.
Presidential elections were held in April in whichXanana Gusmão was elected president of a future independent East Timor.
East Timor became an independent state on 20 May 2002.
Sérgio Vieira de Mello served asSpecial Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor (Transitional Administrator) during the period East Timor was administered by the United Nations.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| - |  | Ian Martin | n/a | 25 October 1999 | 19 November 1999 | 25 days | n/a |
| 1 |  | Sérgio Vieira de Mello (1948–2003) | n/a | 19 November 1999 | 20 May 2002 | 2 years, 182 days | n/a |
Mari Alkatiri served asChief Minister of East Timor between September 2001 and May 2002.
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Election | Term of office | Political party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 |  | Mari Alkatiri (born 1949) | 2001 | 20 September 2001 | 20 May 2002 | 212 days | Fretilin |
| Assumed office | Chief Minister | Cabinet | Election |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 July 2000 | n/a | Interim | n/a |
| 20 September 2001 | Mari Alkatiri | Alkatiri cabinet | 2001 |
The following elections were held during United Nations administration:
During the period of United Nations administration, East Timor was divided intothirteen districts:[9]
Each district was headed by an UNTAET appointed District Administrator supported by District Advisory Councils with representation from political parties, the Catholic Church, women and youth groups.[10]
Security was initially provided by theInternational Force for East Timor (INTERFET) but was assumed by UNTAET Peace-Keeping Force (PKF) in February 2000. The formation of anEast Timor Defence Force was approved in September 2000 which was formally established in February 2001.[11] At the same time, the pro-independence guerrilla movementFALINTIL was officially disbanded, with many of its members joining the new defence force.
Initially law and order in East Timor was maintained by an internationalUnited Nations Civilian Police Force (CIVPOL). Recruitment and training for a local police force commenced by UNTAET in April 2000[10] and anEast Timor Police Service was established in August 2001.[12] Prisons were established at Dili, Becora and Gleno. ASerious Crimes Unit andCrime Scene Detachment also existed to investigate human rights abuses during the period of Indonesian occupation and its immediate aftermath.
UNTAET issued temporary travel documents to residents of East Timor who wished to travel abroad.[13]
The following countries opened Liaison offices in East Timor during the period of United Nations administration:[14]
Four East Timorese athletes participated in the2000 Summer Olympics andtwo athletes participated in the2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, Australia.[15]
| Games | Athletes |
|---|---|
 2000 Summer Olympics | 4 |
| 2000 Summer Paralympics | 2 |
The UN-led interim administration maintained a local FM radio station, "Radio UNTAET", a TV station, "TV UNTAET" and published a fortnightly newsletter known as "Tais Timor" in English, Portuguese, Tetum and Indonesian.[16]
The United Nations transitional administration established an East Timor Postal Service in April 2000 with post offices opening inDili,Baucau and atComoro Airport. Two postage stamps with the inscription Timor Lorosae / UNTAET were first issued on 29 April 2000, in red for domestic mail and blue for international mail.[17][18][14]
Portuguese Timor used the international dialing code +672 until 1975.[19] During Indonesian occupation, theIndonesian country code +62 was used. The code +672 was subsequently reassigned to theAustralian External Territories. Initially after the end of Indonesian occupation, the code +672 9 was used following an agreement with the Government of Australia and telecommunications providerTelstra.[20] East Timor was later assigned the code +670.
The first session followed the historic announcement...of East Timor's Transitional Cabinet on 15 July at UNTAET Headquarters.
| Current |
|
|---|---|
| Former |
|
| UNSC mandated |
|
| Proposed |
|
.svg)
