The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET, ), was a United Nations mission 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 ...
that aimed to solve the
decades-long East Timorese crisis in the area occupied by Indonesian military. UNTAET provided an interim civil administration and a peacekeeping mission in the territory of East Timor, from its establishment on 25 October 1999,
until its independence on 20 May 2002, following the outcome of the
East Timor Special Autonomy Referendum. The transitional administration was established by
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1272 in 1999.
A rarity for
United Nations peacekeeping missions, UNTAET involved the United Nations
directly administering the territory of
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 ...
. The mission's responsibilities included providing a
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...
force to maintain security and order; facilitating and co-ordinating relief assistance to the East Timorese; facilitating emergency rehabilitation of physical infrastructure; administering East Timor and creating structures for sustainable governance and the rule of law; and assisting in the drafting of a new constitution and conducting elections.
UNTAET was established on 25 October 1999, the mission was led by
Sérgio Vieira de Mello of Brazil (
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor). The
International Force East Timor
(INTERFET) transitioned to the UNTAET Peacekeeping Force (PKF) in February 2000 and was commanded by
Filipino military officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...
Jaime de los Santos (Force Commander UNTAET). UNTAET was abolished on 20 May 2002, with most functions passed to the East Timor government. The military and police forces were transferred to the newly created
United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor (UNMISET).

UNTAET was wound up upon
East Timorese independence but a United Nations presence in East Timor would continue through a newly established United Nations Mission of Support in East Timor (
UNMISET).
Contributing nations
A coalition of nations sent troops to support the peace keeping mission. The forces were led by
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, which provided the largest contingent and the out of theatre base for operations, supported 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 ...
who sent the second largest contingent securing the key central areas of the country,
followed by
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, who took responsibility for the southern West sector with supporting troops from
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
,
Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
,
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, and
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
.
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
also sent special forces who joined the
ANZAC
The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...
s on the first day, as well as contingents from
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Kenya
Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
,
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
, and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. While the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
supported the transition authority, it did so mainly by underwriting contracts to replace destroyed infrastructure and thus avoided a direct military involvement, allowing the ANZAC led force to take the lead. The United States did, however, deploy a contingent of American police officers to serve with the
International Police.
Head of Mission
Ian Martin and
Sérgio Vieira de Mello served as
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor during UNTAET's period of operation.
See also
*
United Nations Administered East Timor
*
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 ...
*
Timeline of UN peacekeeping missions
*
UN protectorate
*
, a similar arrangement for
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
*
UNTAET Crime Scene Detachment
*
United Nations Mission in East Timor
*
United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor
*
United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor
References
Further reading
*
* Gunn, Geoffrey C. and Reyko Huang (2004; 2006), ''New Nation: United Nations Peacebuilding in East Timor'' (Faculty of Economics, Nagasaki University, Southeast Asia Monograph Series No.36. (reprint, author, Tipografia Macau Hung Heng Ltd., Macau)
*
* Pemper, Tammy (2019)
Scorched Earth: Peacekeeping in Timor during a campaign of death and destruction.Big Sky Publishing. A biography from a peacekeeper's perspective, based on actual events in the days leading up to UNTAET.
External links
*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20010803092021/http://www.gov.east-timor.org/english.html Archived web-site of first Transitional AdministrationArchived web-site of second Transitional Administration
{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Transitional Administration In East Timor
01
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
History of Timor
Timor-Leste and the United Nations