Rosária Maria Corte-Real (also Rosalia Maria Corte-Real) was the Minister of Education and Culture in

East Timor 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 ...

from 2006 to 2007. She was also responsible for youth and sports. She is a member of

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 ...

Education and career

Corte-Real grew up in Ainaro, where her father was chief of the village ( Portuguese: ''Chefe de Suco'') during the

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 ...

period. In 1965, Corte-Real completed primary school in Same (

Manufahi Manufahi (, ) is one of the municipalities of East Timor. It has a population of 53,691 (2015 census) and an area of 1,323 km2. The capital of the municipality is Same. Etymology The present name of the municipality, ''Manufahi'', is ...

). Between 1966 and 1970 she then attended secondary and technical training school the ''Escola de Professores do Posto Escolar'' (Post School Teachers' School) in Canto Rezende,

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 ...

. Corte-Real was then principal of primary schools in

Bobonaro Bobonaro is a town in Bobonaro Subdistrict, Bobonaro District, East Timor., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The district capital is not in Bobonaro, but is in Maliana Maliana is a city in East Timor, 149 kilomet ...

(1970 to 1971), Bazartete (1971 to 1972),

Hato-Udo Hato-Udo (''Hatu Udo, Hotudo''), officially Hato-Udo Administrative Post (, ), is an administrative post (and was formerly a subdistrict) in Ainaro municipality, East Timor. Its seat or administrative centre An administrative centre is a ...

(1973 to 1974), and Bidau, a suburb of Dili (1975), the year of the

Indonesian invasion of East Timor The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus (), began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fre ...

. From 1980 to 1981, Corte-Real participated in a teachers' training course in Dili, followed by further training to obtain a teaching license at the IKIP Sanata Dharma in

Yogyakarta Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta in Indonesia, in the south-central part of the island of Java. As the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by Hamengkubuwono, a monarchy, Yogyakarta is regarded as an importan ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

from 1985 to 1989. In 1990, she became head of the Teachers' Section of the Department of Education and Culture, Dili. From 1997 to 1999, she earned a master's degree in public administration at

Gajah Mada University Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a Public university, public research university located in Sleman Regency, Sleman, Yogyakarta (special region), Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Ga ...

in Yogyakarta. Under 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 ...

following the

1999 East Timorese independence referendum An independence referendum was held in Indonesian-occupied East Timor (province), East Timor on 30 August 1999, organised by United Nations Mission in East Timor. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia ...

, Corte-Real was elected an MP for

Ainaro District Ainaro (, ) is one of 13 municipalities of East Timor, in the southwest part of the country. It has a population of 59,175 (census 2010) and an area of 804 km2. Its capital is the city of Ainaro, a small mountain town. Etymology The na ...

for the FRETILIN party in the transitional constituent assembly, on 30 August 2001. She was a member of the Thematic Committee I and the Systematisation and Harmonisation Committee, which contributed to the development of East Timor's Bill of Rights. When East Timor became independent in 2002, the assembly became the National Parliament of East Timor, and Corte-Real was elected secretary of the parliament.
In the government sworn in in July 2005, Corte-Real was appointed Vice Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, in order to provide support to the Minister of Education at a time of conflict between church and state. In the next government formed in 2006, Corte-Real became the Minister of Education and Culture, replacing Armindo Maia. She retained that office until the election in June 2007. Her successor as minister was João Câncio Freitas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corte-Real, Rosaria Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Education and culture ministers of Timor-Leste People from Ainaro Municipality 21st-century women politicians Fretilin politicians Members of the National Parliament (Timor-Leste) Women government ministers of Timor-Leste East Timorese schoolteachers East Timorese civil servants Gadjah Mada University alumni