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The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ( pt, Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
in
East Timor East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-w ...
. They presently hold 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the government in East Timor until their independence in 2002. They obtained the Presidency in 2017 under Francisco Guterres, but lost in the 2022 East Timorese presidential election. Fretilin began as a
resistance movement A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objectives ...
that fought for the independence of East Timor, originally from
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
in 1974 and later from
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
until 1998. After East Timor gained its independence in 2002, Fretilin became one of several parties competing for power in a multi-party system.


History before independence


Ascendancy and destruction

Fretilin was founded on 20 May, 1974 as the
Timorese Social Democratic Association The Timorese Social Democratic Association ( pt, Associação Social-Democrata Timorense; abbreviated ASDT) was a political party in East Timor. Both the original ASDT of the 1970s (which became Fretilin) and the current party of the same nam ...
(ASDT). The ASDT renamed itself to Fretilin on 11 September 1974 and took a more radical stance, proclaiming itself the “sole legitimate representative” of the East Timorese people. In response to a coup by the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) on 11 August 1975, Fretilin hastily formed an armed wing called
Falintil The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (, FALINTIL) originally began as the military wing of the political party FRETILIN of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to FRETILIN's political conflict wit ...
, which emerged victorious after a three week civil war. Falintil would continue to wage war against the Indonesian military during its
invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...
on 7 December 1975 and ensuing occupation. Fretilin formally declared East Timor's independence from Portugal on 28 November 1975 and inaugurated an 18-member cabinet with members of the Fretilin Central Committee with Xavier do Amaral as president and
Nicolau dos Reis Lobato Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (24 May 1946 – 31 December 1978) was an East Timorese politician who is considered the national hero of the country. Biography Lobato was born in Soibada, Portuguese Timor on 24 May 1946. Lobato was the first prim ...
as both vice president and prime minister. The two men fell out as the pressures from the occupation escalated, and in September 1977 Lobato had do Amaral arrested for "high treason". On 13 December 1978, Lobato, do Amaral's successor as president, was killed by the
Indonesian military , founded = as the ('People's Security Forces') , current_form = , disbanded = , branches = , headquarters = Cilangkap, Jakarta , website = , commander-in-chief = Joko Widodo , ...
. He was succeeded by Mau Lear, who served until he was also tracked down and executed by Indonesian forces on 2 February 1979. Fretilin came under enormous pressure in the late 1970s. From September 1977 to February 1979, only 3 of the 52 members of Fretilin's Central Committee survived.


Recuperation and national unity

Fretilin survived despite the military collapse, and was slowly rebuilt under the relatively moderate and nationalist leadership of
Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. A former rebel, he was the third President of the independent East Timor, serving from 2002 to 2007. He then became its fourth prime minister, serving from ...
. Between March 1981 and April 1984 Fretilin was known as ''Partido Marxista–Leninista Fretilin'' (PMLF), and Marxism-Leninism was officially declared the party's ideology. The name was changed back in 1984 and its revolutionary politics abandoned in order to further national unity and acquire the support of the UDT and the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.


History since independence

In the first elections, held in
2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...
, the year before independence, Fretilin polled 57.4% of the vote and took 55 seats in the 88-seat Assembly. While this gave the party a working majority, it fell short of the two-thirds majority it had hoped for to dictate the drafting of a national constitution. In the June 2007 parliamentary election, Fretilin again took first place, but with a greatly reduced 29% of the vote and 21 seats. In the election it faced a challenge from the
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction ( pt, Congresso Nacional de Reconstrução de Timor, CNRT) is a political party in East Timor founded by former President Xanana Gusmão in March 2007 in preparation for the 2007 parliamentar ...
(CNRT), led by former president Xanana Gusmão, which placed second. Although Fretilin did not win a majority of seats, its Secretary-General,
Mari Alkatiri Mari bin Amude Alkatiri, GCIH ( ar, مرعي بن عمودة الكثيري '; born 26 November 1949) is a Timorese politician. He was Prime Minister of East Timor from May 2002 until his resignation on 26 June 2006 following weeks of politic ...
, spoke of forming a minority government. The party formed a national unity government which included the CNRT, a collaboration that they had previously rejected. However, subsequent talks between the parties were unsuccessful in reaching an agreement on a government. After weeks of dispute between the CNRT-led coalition and Fretilin over who should form the government,
José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Ministry of Fore ...
announced on 6 August that the CNRT-led coalition would form the government and that Gusmão would become Prime Minister. Fretilin denounced Ramos Horta's decision as unconstitutional, and angry Fretilin supporters in
Dili Dili ( Portuguese/ Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital, largest city of East Timor and the second largest city in Timor islands after Kupang (Indonesia). It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed i ...
immediately reacted to Ramos-Horta's announcement with violent protests. Alkatiri said that the party would fight the decision through legal means and would encourage people to protest and practice civil disobedience.Lindsay Murdoch
"Fretilin threatens 'people-power' coup"
theage.com.au, 9 August 2007.
A few days later, Fretilin Vice-President
Arsénio Bano Arsénio Paixão Bano (born 1974 in Oecussi-Ambeno) is an East Timorese politician and the Vice-President of Fretilin, a post to which he was elected by the party's Central Committee in July 2007. He served in the government as Minister of Labor ...
said that the party would not challenge the government in court, and expressed a desire for a "political solution" leading to the creation of a national unity government. Francisco Guterres of Fretilin served as president of East Timor from 2017 to 2022. Guterres sought re-election to a second term in
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
, but lost to
José Ramos-Horta José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Ministry of Fore ...
. The CNRT was in power from 2007 to 2017, but Fretilin Secretary-General Mari Alkatiri formed a coalition government after the July 2017 parliamentary election. However, his new minority government soon fell, resulting in a second general election in May 2018, which the CNRT won as part of the 2017–2020 coalition the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP).


Electoral history


Presidential elections


Legislative elections


See also

* :Fretilin politicians


References

{{Authority control Political parties in East Timor East Timorese nationalism Indonesian occupation of East Timor Democratic socialist parties in Asia Left-wing nationalist parties Progressive Alliance Former member parties of the Socialist International 1970s establishments in East Timor 1974 establishments in Southeast Asia Political parties established in 1974 1970s in Portuguese Timor National liberation movements Rebel groups in Indonesia Separatism in Indonesia