| Conventional Long Name: | Democratic Republic of East Timor |
| Common Name: | East Timor |
| Era: | Cold War |
| Status: | Partially recognized state |
| Government Type: | Socialist republic |
| Event Start: | Declaration of Independence |
| Date Start: | 28 November |
| Year Start: | 1975 |
| Event End: | Annexed by Indonesia |
| Date End: | 17 July |
| Year End: | 1976 |
| Event1: | Indonesian invasion |
| Date Event1: | 7 December 1975 |
| P1: | Portuguese Timor |
| Flag P1: | Flag of Portugal.svg |
| S1: | Provisional Government of East Timor |
| Flag S1: | Flag of Indonesia.svg |
| Flag Type: | Flag |
| National Anthem: | "Fatherland" |
| Image Map Caption: | East Timor in South East Asia |
| Capital: | Dili |
| Common Languages: | Portuguese |
| Leader1: | Francisco Xavier do Amaral |
| Year Leader1: | 1975 |
| Leader2: | Nicolau dos Reis Lobato |
| Year Leader2: | 1975–1976 |
| Title Leader: | President |
| Deputy1: | Nicolau dos Reis Lobato |
| Year Deputy1: | 1975 |
| Title Deputy: | Prime Minister |
| Currency: | Escudo |
The Democratic Republic of East Timor (pt|República Democrática de Timor-Leste, tet|Repúblika Demokrátika de Timór-Lorosa'e), was a state that was unilaterally proclaimed on the territory of present-day East Timor on 28 November 1975 by Fretilin prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor nine days later on 7 December 1975.
See main article: East Timorese civil war. East Timor was colonised by Portugal in the mid-16th century and administered as Portuguese Timor. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal, a decolonisation process was initiated which was to have led to the formation of an elected Constituent Assembly in 1976. Three new parties emerged at this time; the Timorese Democratic Union which advocated continued association with Portugal, Fretilin which supported independence and Apodeti who supported integration into Indonesia.[1] In local elections held on 13 March 1975, Fretilin and UDT emerged as the largest parties, having previously formed an alliance to campaign for independence.
On 11 August 1975, the UDT attempted a coup, in a bid to halt the increasing popularity of Fretilin. Portuguese Governor Mário Lemos Pires fled to the offshore island of Atauro, north of the capital, Dili, from where he later attempted to broker an agreement between the two sides.
On 28 November 1975, Fretilin made a unilateral declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor with Francisco Xavier do Amaral as president and Nicolau dos Reis Lobato as prime minister. This act was not recognised by either Portugal or Indonesia.[2] [3] [4]
On 30 November 1975, Fretilin caused a "Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste (RDTL)" to be read out at an inauguration ceremony for Amaral as the newly appointed president.[5] Article 40 of the new constitution provided for the establishment of a Council of Ministers. On 1 December 1975, Fretilin established that body.[5]
See main article: Indonesian invasion of East Timor. In response, on 30 November 1975, Indonesia encouraged leaders of the UDT, Apodeti, and other smaller parties to sign the Balibo Declaration calling for integration of East Timor into Indonesia.[6] On 7 December 1975, Indonesian forces launched a massive air and sea invasion, known as Operasi Seroja (Operation Lotus), citing the potential for a communist government, the need to develop the territory and national and regional security risks as reasons for its actions. Indonesian forces occupied the capital, Dili, within hours of launching the invasion during the Battle of Dili[7] [8] and occupied the second largest city, Baucau, on 10 December, with Liquisa and Maubara being occupied in late December.[9]
See main article: Indonesian occupation of East Timor and Timor Timur. On 17 December an Indonesian supported Provisional Government of East Timor (Pemerintah Sementara Timor Timur (PSTT)) was formed which was led by Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo of Apodeti and Lopez da Cruz of the UDT.[10] [11] A Regional Popular Assembly was established on 31 May 1976 [12] which subsequently adopted a resolution calling for the formal integration of East Timor into Indonesia.[13] On 17 July 1976, Indonesia formally annexed East Timor as the province of Timor Timur with as its first governor.[14]
The United Nations did not recognise either the Democratic Republic of East Timor, proclaimed by Fretilin, or Indonesian sovereignty over East Timor and instead continued to recognise Portugal as the legal Administering Power as demonstrated by United Nations Security Council Resolution 384. This meant that in terms of international law Portuguese Timor nominally continued to exist. An agreement in 1999 between the governments of Portugal and Indonesia led to a referendum on 30 August 1999 in which a majority of the people of East Timor voted for independence. Following a transitional period of United Nations administration, East Timor became independent as the Democratic Republic of East Timor on 20 May 2002.
In Portuguese:[15]
In English:
Following the declaration of independence a Council of Ministers was formed with Francisco Xavier do Amaral as president and Nicolau dos Reis Lobato as prime minister.
See main article: President of East Timor.
| Portrait | Name | Elected | Term of office | Political party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
| 1 | Francisco Xavier do Amaral | — | 28 November 1975 | 7 December 1975 | Fretilin | ||
| 2 | Nicolau dos Reis Lobato | 7 December 1975 | 31 December 1978 | Fretilin | |||
See main article: Prime Minister of East Timor.
Following the declaration of independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, the state received diplomatic recognition form six mainly socialist states, most of them former Portuguese colonies.
The states that recognised the Democratic Republic of East Timor were as follows:[2] [3] [4]
The Democratic Republic of East Timor maintained a liaison office in New York located at Apartment 608, 310 East 44th Street.[16]