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 the ...
) 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 diplomat.
Education
Guterres studied at the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, the
University of the Western Cape
The University of the Western Cape (UWC) is a public research university in Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the South African government as a university for Coloured people only. Other un ...
in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, the Malaysian Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, and the Institute for Strategic and International Studies in
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 ...
.
Career
Guterres was a member of the Central Committee of the former ruling party
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 Parliame ...
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
and the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. When his country achieved independence in May 2002, he was appointed as the first East Timorese ambassador to the U.S. and concurrently the U.N.
In 2006, after an internal political crisis in East Timor, Guterres attempted to take over the leadership of Fretilin from
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 politica ...
, the party's Secretary-General, but Alkatiri prevailed at a Fretilin national congress. Guterres was named
foreign minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
under Prime Minister
José Ramos-Horta
José Manuel Ramos-Horta (; born 26 December 1949) is an East Timorese politician currently serving as president of East Timor since May 2022. He previously served as president from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was Minister of Fore ...
later in the year,Stephen Fitzpatrick "Fretilin sidelined in Timorese cabinet" , ''The Australian'', August 9, 2007. serving in that position until May 2007.
Guterres' supporters, comprising a breakaway faction of Fretilin called "Mudança" (meaning "reform"), backed Fretilin's main rival, the
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction
The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction ( pt, Congresso Nacional de Reconstrução de Timor, CNRT) is a political party in East Timor founded by former President Xanana Gusmão in March 2007 in preparation for the 2007 parliamentary ...
(CNRT) of former president
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 ...
, in the June 2007 parliamentary election. Despite this, Guterres' faction refused to leave Fretilin, and Alkatiri warned of legal action.
Although Fretilin won the most votes in the parliamentary election, the CNRT formed a coalition with other parties to hold a majority in parliament. In the government sworn in under Gusmão, who became Prime Minister, on August 8, 2007, Guterres became Deputy Prime Minister.
Jose Luis Guterres, also commonly known as "LUGU" along with his group such as Jorge Teme (current Secretary State of Enclave Oecusse), attempted to register FRETILIN-Mudança as a political party broke up from Fretilin but then it was later rejected by the High Court of Timor-Leste due to its political attributes: even the name of the party was similar to the existing political party, Fretilin. Then, only few days later, as they were given chances to make any modification so that it could be legally registered, they changed FRETILIN-Mudança to
FRENTI-Mudança
The Front for National Reconstruction of Timor-Leste – Change (, Frenti–Mudança) is a political party in East Timor led by Vice-Prime minister José Luís Guterres.2012 parliamentary election, it won two seats in parliament. Guterres gave up his seat to become foreign minister in the new governing coalition headed by Xanana Gusmao, remaining in post until 2015, when he returned to parliament.
Guterres ran for the presidency in 2017 but finished a distant third with 2.6% of the vote. Frenti-Mudança then lost its parliamentary seats in the 2017 parliamentary election.