Armanda Berta dos Santos (born 11 October 1974) is an

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-weste ...

ese politician, and the leader of the

Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (, KHUNTO) is a political party in East Timor. History KHUNTO was officially registered on 22 June 2011 and is affiliated with the martial arts group ''Korka''. In the 2012 parliamentary elections it re ...

(KHUNTO) political party. She is the more senior of East Timor's two incumbent

Deputy Prime Ministers A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

, serving since May 2020 under the

VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor The VIII Constitutional Government ( pt, VIII Governo Constitucional, tet, VIII Governu Konstitusionál) is the eighth and incumbent Constitutional Government (administration or cabinet) under the Constitution of East Timor. Formed on 22 June ...

led by

Taur Matan Ruak José Maria Vasconcelos (born 10 October 1956), popularly known as Taur Matan Ruak (Tetum for "Two Sharp Eyes"), is an East Timorese politician who has served as the prime minister of East Timor since 22 June 2018. He was also President of Ea ...

. She is also the incumbent Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, serving in that position since the government was formed in June 2018.

Political career

Santos has been KHUNTO's leader since its foundation in 2011. In the

2012 East Timorese parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in East Timor on 7 July 2012.Election Profile
IFES The Uni ...

, KHUNTO won 2.97% of the popular vote, and therefore failed by only 150 votes to overcome the 3%

electoral threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

and have two members elected to the

National Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. In the 2017 parliamentary election, Santos was elected to the National Parliament as the party's list leader. She also became vice-chairman of the Committee for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (Committee-E) and a member of the Committee for Economic Affairs and Development (Committee-D). In the early election in 2018, Santos was ranked #3 in the

Alliance for Change and Progress The Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP) (, ) was a three-party alliance in East Timor. Until 1 February 2018, the alliance was called Parliamentary Majority Alliance (, ). The motto of the coalition was "Hametuk Hametin Nasaun" (English: Stre ...

(AMP), of which KHUNTO was a part, and was again elected to the National Parliament. On 22 June 2018, she was sworn in as Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion in the new VIII Constitutional Government, and therefore automatically had to give up her parliamentary seat. Following the breakdown of the AMP coalition in the first few months of 2020, the CNRT, which had been the lead party in that coalition, decided on 30 April 2020 that its members serving in the VIII Constitutional Government would resign their positions. The CNRT informed the Prime Minister of its decision on 8 May 2020, but KHUNTO continued to support the government. On 12 May 2020, the government approved the creation of two new positions of Deputy Prime Minister, and on 29 May 2020, Santos was sworn in as holder of one of those new positions, while retaining her role as Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion.

Personal life

Santos is married to , the leader of , a . ''Naimori'' is also the founder of KHUNTO, but chose to assume only the position of adviser to the party, with Santos taking on the leadership.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Armanda Berta dos Deputy Prime Ministers of East Timor Government ministers of East Timor Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan politicians Social solidarity and inclusion ministers of East Timor Living people Members of the National Parliament (East Timor) Women government ministers of East Timor 21st-century East Timorese politicians 21st-century women politicians 1974 births