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

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 ...

was administered by the

United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor The United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), ( pt, Administração Transitória das Nações Unidas em Timor Leste), was a United Nations mission in East Timor that aimed to solve the decades long East Timorese cri ...

as a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

protectorate A protectorate, in the context of international relations, is a 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 most of its in ...

Background

East Timor was colonised by

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 the mid-16th century and administered as

Portuguese Timor Portuguese Timor ( pt, Timor Português) was a colonial possession of Portugal that existed between 1702 and 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies. The first Europeans to arrive in th ...

. Following the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

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

Timor Timur Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

province. The invasion was not recognized as legal by the

, 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 During the East Timor independence referendum in 1999, pro-Indonesia militias refers to paramilitary militias in East Timor that were loyal to the Indonesian government. They operated during the final years of the Indonesian occupation of Eas ...

s commenced a

scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy that aims to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy. Any assets that could be used by the enemy may be targeted, which usually includes obvious weapons, transport vehicles, commun ...

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 Timo ...

. 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 person, 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 stat ...

on 22 May 2002.

Administrative history

Initial administrative arrangements

A 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. The following month an executive body, the 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 by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

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 plurality of seats for the

FRETILIN The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor ( pt, Frente Revolucionária de Timor-Leste Independente, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a centre-left political party in East Timor. They presently hold 23 of 65 seats in the National Parliam ...

party. The Assembly nominated a transitional

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or ...

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

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 ...

. 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 pre ...

were held in April in which

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 ...

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 The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for East Timor was appointed by the Secretary-General to lead the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. During the transition from Indonesian rule to independence the United Na ...

(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.

Elections

The following elections were held during United Nations administration: *

2001 East Timorese parliamentary election 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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. The East Timorese pro-independence guerrilla movement

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 ...

was officially disbanded as this time 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 Logo of the United Nations Police.svg, CIVPOL patch File:East Timor Police Service patch 2001.png, Patch of the East Timor Police Service 2001-2002

International relations

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 and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

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 last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Media and communications

UNTAET public information

The UN-led interim administration maintained a local FM radio station, "Radio 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/ 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 ...

Baucau Baucau ( pt, Baucau, tet, Baukau) is the second-largest city in East Timor, 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 th ...

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 federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing po ...

. 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 voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 2 ...

.Telstra is reconnecting East Timor to the world

, 21 February 2000 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:United Nations Transitional Administration In East Timor 01 Government of East Timor History of East Timor 1990s in East Timor 2000s in East Timor States and territories established in 1999 States and territories disestablished in 2002 1990s establishments in East Timor 2000s disestablishments in East Timor 1999 establishments in Indonesia 1999 establishments in Southeast Asia 2002 disestablishments in Southeast Asia 1267 History of Timor East Timor and the United Nations