United Nations Administered East Timor refers to the period between 25 October 1999 and 20 May 2002 when

Timor-Leste Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

was administered by the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an int ...

as a United Nations

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a State (polity), state that is under protection by another state for defence against aggression and other violations of law. It is a dependent territory that enjoys autonomy over ...

Background

East Timor was colonised by

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in the mid-16th century and administered as

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in the regio ...

. Following the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

in Portugal, East Timor unilaterally declared independence as the Democratic Republic of East Timor on 28 November 1975, but was invaded by Indonesia 7 December 1975. East Timor was occupied by Indonesia and administered as

Timor Timur East Timor () was a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia between 1976 and 1999, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Indonesian occupation of the country. Its territory corresponded to the previous Portuguese Timor and to th ...

province. The invasion was not recognized as legal by the United Nations, which continued to regard Portugal as the legal Administering Power of East Timor. In 1999, in a UN-sponsored referendum, an overwhelming majority of East Timorese voted for independence from Indonesia. Immediately following the referendum,

Pro-Indonesia militia Pro-Indonesia militias in East Timor, commonly known as Wanra (), were active in the final years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, Indonesian occupation leading up to the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum, 1999 independence refe ...

s commenced a

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...

campaign triggering the

1999 East Timorese crisis The 1999 East Timorese crisis began with attacks by pro-Indonesia militia groups on civilians, and expanded to general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili. The violence intensified after a majority of eligible East Tim ...

. An

International Force for East Timor The International Force East Timor (INTERFET) was a multinational non-United Nations peacemaking task force, organised and led by Australia in accordance with United Nations resolutions to address the humanitarian and security crisis that took ...

was deployed to the territory to bring the violence to an end. Indonesia formally rescinded its annexation on 19 October 1999 and a United Nations transitional administration was subsequently established on 25 October 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1272 to administer the territory until

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

on 22 May 2002.

Administrative history

Initial administrative arrangements

A fifteen member National Consultative Council was established in December 1999 by UNTAET REG 1999/2, 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.

First transitional administration

In July 2000 the membership of the National Consultative Council was expanded to 36 members including, one representative from each of the 13 districts of East Timor, and the body was renamed the National Council. 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 body Transitional Cabinet was formed comprising four Timorese members and four international members. 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.

Second transitional administration

Elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

for an 88-member

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

were held on 30 August 2001, the second anniversary of the autonomy referendum, which resulted in a majority of seats for the

Fretilin The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a separatist organization turned centre-left political party in Timor-Leste. It presently holds 19 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the ...

party. The Assembly nominated a transitional

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

the following month. The Council of Ministers had 24 members and was led by transitional

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

Mari Alkatiri Mari bin Amude Alkatiri ( '; 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 political unrest in the country, and again from September ...

. The Constituent Assembly completed work on a draft constitution and this was promulgated in March 2002, the Assembly would serve as the parliament of East Timor following independence.

Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...

were held in April in which

Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...

was elected president of a future independent East Timor. East Timor became an independent state on 20 May 2002.

Office holders

Transitional administrator

Sérgio Vieira de Mello Sérgio Vieira de Mello (; 15 March 1948 – 19 August 2003) was a Brazilian United Nations diplomat who worked on several UN humanitarian and political programs for over 34 years. The Government of Brazil posthumously awarded the Sergio Vieira ...

served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor (Transitional Administrator) during the period East Timor was administered by the United Nations.

Chief minister

served as Chief Minister of East Timor between September 2001 and May 2002.

Cabinets

Elections

The following elections were held during United Nations administration: *

2001 East Timorese parliamentary election Constituent Assembly elections were held in East Timor on 30 August 2001, the second anniversary of the independence referendum. One member was elected from each of the country's thirteen districts, whilst a further 75 were elected by proportion ...

2002 East Timorese presidential election Presidential elections were held in East Timor for the first time on 14 April 2002 under UN administration. As expected, the former president of the East Timorese resistance movement, Conselho Nacional da Resistencia Timorense, Xanana Gusmão ...

Local government

During the period of United Nations administration, East Timor was divided into thirteen districts: 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.

Security and law enforcement

Security was initially provided by the

(INTERFET) but was assumed by UNTAET Peace-Keeping Force (PKF) in February 2000. The formation of an East Timor Defence Force was approved in September 2000 which was formally established in February 2001. At the same time, the pro-independence guerrilla movement

FALINTIL The Armed Forces for the National Liberation of East Timor (, Falintil) originally began as the military wing of the Fretilin party of East Timor. It was established on 20 August 1975 in response to Fretilin's political conflict with the Tim ...

was officially disbanded, with many of its members joining the new defence force. Initially law and order in East Timor was maintained by an international United Nations Civilian Police Force (CIVPOL). Recruitment and training for a local police force commenced by UNTAET in April 2000 and an East Timor Police Service was established in August 2001. Prisons were established at Dili, Becora and Gleno. A Serious Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Detachment also existed to investigate human rights abuses during the period of Indonesian occupation and its immediate aftermath. File:INTERFET Logo.jpg, Emblem of INTERFET File:East Timor Police Service patch 2001.png, Patch of the East Timor Police Service 2001-2002

International relations

Travel documents

UNTAET issued temporary travel documents to residents of East Timor who wished to travel abroad.

Liaison Offices

The following countries opened Liaison offices in East Timor during the period of United Nations administration: * * * * * * *

Sport

Four East Timorese athletes participated in the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

and two athletes participated in the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

in Sydney, Australia.

Media and communications

UNTAET public information

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.

Postal services

The United Nations transitional administration established an East Timor Postal Service in April 2000 with post offices opening in

Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...

Baucau Baucau (, ) is the second-largest city in Timor-Leste, after Dili, the capital, which lies to its west. Baucau has about 16,000 inhabitants, and is the capital of Baucau municipality, located in the eastern part of the country. In the time ...

and at Comoro 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. File:UNTAET East Timor postage stamps.png, UNTAET East Timor domestic and international postage stamps File:UNTAET East Timor first day cover.png, UNTAET East Timor first day cover 29 April 2000

Telecommunications

Portuguese Timor used the international dialing code +672 until 1975. During Indonesian occupation, the Indonesian country code +62 was used. The code +672 was subsequently reassigned to the

Australian External Territories The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the fede ...

. Initially after the end of Indonesian occupation, the code +672 9 was used following an agreement with the Government of Australia and telecommunications provider

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

. East Timor was later assigned the code +670.

References

External links

Archived web-site of first Transitional Administration

Archived web-site of second Transitional Administration

Tais Timor newspaper
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Transitional Administration In East Timor 01 Territories administered by the United Nations Government of Timor-Leste 1990s in East Timor 2000s in Timor-Leste States and territories established in 1999 States and territories disestablished in 2002 1990s establishments in East Timor 2000s disestablishments in Timor-Leste 1999 establishments in Indonesia 1999 establishments in Southeast Asia 2002 disestablishments in Southeast Asia

1267 Year 1267 (Roman numerals, MCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Asia and North Africa * The "Grand Capital" is constructed in Khanbaliq (modern-day Beijing) by Kublai Khan, having moved ...

History of Timor Timor-Leste and the United Nations