Country name:
conventional long form:
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste
conventional short form:
Timor-Leste
local long form:
Republika Demokratika Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Republica Democratica de Timor-Leste [Portuguese]
local short form:
Timor Lorosa'e [Tetum]; Timor-Leste [Portuguese]
former:
East Timor, Portuguese Timor
etymology:
timor" derives from the Indonesian and Malay word "timur" meaning "east"; "leste" is the Portuguese word for "east", so "Timor-Leste" literally means "Eastern-East"; the local [Tetum] name "Timor Lorosa'e" translates as "East Rising Sun
note: pronounced TEE-mor LESS-tay
Government type:
semi-presidential republic
Capital:
name:
Dili
geographic coordinates:
8 35 S, 125 36 E
time difference:
UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
12 municipalities (municipios, singular municipio) and 1 special adminstrative region* (regiao administrativa especial); Aileu, Ainaro, Baucau, Bobonaro (Maliana), Covalima (Suai), Dili, Ermera (Gleno), Lautem (Lospalos), Liquica, Manatuto, Manufahi (Same), Oe-Cusse Ambeno* (Pante Macassar), Viqueque
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence:
20 May 2002 (from Indonesia); note - 28 November 1975 was the date independence was proclaimed from Portugal; 20 May 2002 was the date of international recognition of Timor-Leste's independence from Indonesia
National holiday:
Restoration of Independence Day, 20 May (2002)Proclamation of Independence Day, 28 November (1975)
Constitution:
history:
drafted 2001, approved 22 March 2002, entered into force 20 May 2002
(2018)
amendments:
proposed by Parliament and parliamentary groups; consideration of amendments requires at least four-fifths majority approval by Parliament; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by Parliament and promulgation by the president of the republic; passage of amendments to the republican form of government and the flag requires approval in a referendum
(2018)
Legal system:
civil law system based on the Portuguese model; note - penal and civil law codes to replace the Indonesian codes were passed by Parliament and promulgated in 2009 and 2011, respectively
International law organization participation:
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Citizenship:
citizenship by birth:
no
citizenship by descent only:
at least one parent must be a citizen of Timor-Leste
dual citizenship recognized:
no
residency requirement for naturalization:
10 years
Suffrage:
17 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Francisco GUTERRES (since 20 May 2017); note - the president plays a largely symbolic role but is the commander in chief of the military and is able to veto legislation, dissolve parliament, and call national elections
head of government:
Prime Minister Taur Matan RUAK (since 22 June 2018); note - President GUTERRES dissolved parliament because of an impasse over passing the country's budget on 26 January 2018, with then Prime Minister Mari ALKATIRI assuming the role of caretaker prime minister until a new prime minister was appointed
cabinet:
Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister and appointed by the president
elections/appointments:
president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 20 March 2017 (next to be held in 2022); following parliamentary elections, the president appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as the prime minister
election results:
Francisco GUTERRES elected president; percent of vote - Francisco GUTERRES (FRETILIN) 57.1%, Antonio DA CONCEICAO (PD) 32.5%, Jose Luis GUTERRES (Frenti-Mudanca) 2.6%, Jose NEVES (independent) 2.3%, Luis Alves TILMAN (independent) 2.2%, other 3.4%
Legislative branch:
description:
unicameral National Parliament (65 seats; members directly elected in a single nationwide constituency by proportional representation vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections:
last held on 12 May 2018 (next to be held in July 2023)
election results:
percent of vote by party - AMP - 49.6%, FRETILIN 34.2%, PD 8.1%, DDF 5.5%, other 2.6%; seats by party - AMP 34, FRETILIN 23, PD 5, DDF 3; composition - men 44, women 21, percent of women 32%
Judicial branch:
highest courts:
Supreme Court of Justice (consists of the court president and NA judges)
judge selection and term of office:
Supreme Court president appointed by the president of the republic from among the other court judges to serve a 4-year term; other Supreme Court judges appointed - 1 by the Parliament and the others by the Supreme Council for the Judiciary, a body presided over by the Supreme Court president and includes mostly presidential and parliamentary appointees; other Supreme Court judges serve for life
subordinate courts:
Court of Appeal; High Administrative, Tax, and Audit Court; district courts; magistrates' courts; military courts
note: the UN Justice System Programme, launched in 2003 in 4 phases through 2018, is helping strengthen the country's justice system; the Programme is aligned with the country's long-range Justice Sector Strategic Plan, which includes legal reform
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Change and Progress or AMP [Xanana GUSMAO] (alliance includes CNRT, KHUNTO, PLP)
Democratic Development Forum or DDF
Democratic Party or PD
Frenti-Mudanca [Jose Luis GUTERRES]
Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan or KHUNTO
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction or CNRT [Kay Rala Xanana GUSMAO]
People's Liberation Party or PLP [Taur Matan RUAK]
Revolutionary Front of Independent Timor-Leste or FRETILIN [Mari ALKATIRI]
International organization participation:
ACP, ADB, AOSIS, ARF, ASEAN (observer), CPLP, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PIF (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Domingos Sarmento ALVES (since 21 May 2014)
chancery:
4201 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 504, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
[1] (202) 966-3202
FAX:
[1] (202) 966-3205
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Kathleen FITZPATRICK (since 19 January 2018)
embassy:
Avenida de Portugal, Praia dos Coqueiros, Dili
mailing address:
US Department of State, 8250 Dili Place, Washington, DC 20521-8250
telephone:
(670) 332-4684
FAX:
(670) 331-3206
Flag description:
red with a black isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) superimposed on a slightly longer yellow arrowhead that extends to the center of the flag; a white star - pointing to the upper hoist-side corner of the flag - is in the center of the black triangle; yellow denotes the colonialism in Timor-Leste's past, black represents the obscurantism that needs to be overcome, red stands for the national liberation struggle; the white star symbolizes peace and serves as a guiding light
National symbol(s):
Mount Ramelau; national colors: red, yellow, black, white
National anthem:
name:
"Patria" (Fatherland)
lyrics/music:
Fransisco Borja DA COSTA/Afonso DE ARAUJO
note: adopted 2002; the song was first used as an anthem when Timor-Leste declared its independence from Portugal in 1975; the lyricist, Francisco Borja DA COSTA, was killed in the Indonesian invasion just days after independence was declared
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Timor-Leste on this page is re-published from the 2019 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Timor-Leste Government 2019 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Timor-Leste Government 2019 should be addressed to the CIA.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 08-Feb-19