Sérgio Gama da Costa Lobo (born 19 July 1958) is a politician from

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 ...

who served as the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2012 to 2015. He has served as the Catholic Scouts of Dili's leader since 1978 and an international commissioner since 1980. He served on the Diocese of Dili's Pastoral Commission from 1978 to 1980. He has provided guidance to the East Timor Medical Association since 2005. Additionallhy from 2010 to 2014, Lobo was a member of the National Executive Council of the Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste (CVTL), the East Timorese Red Cross.

Early life and education

In 1997, Lobo earned a

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

general surgery General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid ...

from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Diponegoro University Diponegoro University ( jv, ꦈꦤꦶꦥ꦳ꦼꦂꦱꦶꦠꦱ꧀ꦢꦶꦥꦤꦼꦒꦫ; id, Universitas Diponegoro, abbreviated as Undip) is a public university in Semarang, Central Java, Indonesia. Founded in 1957 as a private university by ...

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

. He finished courses in health finance at the

World Bank Institute The World Bank Institute is the capacity building branch of the World Bank. It provides learning programs, policy advice and technical assistance to policy makers, government and non-government agencies, and development practitioners of developing c ...

in Washington, D.C., and Pacific Senior Public Management at the

Asian Development Bank Institute The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is an Asian think tank focused on identifying effective development strategies for Asia and the Pacific, and on providing support to ADB member countries in managing development challenges. It was esta ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia and

Suva Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...

, both in 2000. Between 2009 and 2011, Lobo studied

hypnotherapy Hypnotherapy is a type of mind–body intervention in which hypnosis is used to create a state of focused attention and increased suggestibility in the treatment of a medical or psychological disorder or concern. Popularized by 17th and 18th cen ...

online at the American Hypnosis Motivation Institute, and in 2011, he attended the Path Light Center in Singapore.

Political career

Lobo oversaw health at the

Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense The National Council of Maubere Resistance (Portuguese: Conselho Nacional da Resistência Maubere, or CNRM) was an umbrella organisation of East Timorese individuals and organisations dedicated to resisting the Indonesian occupation of 1975� ...

(CNRT) from 1999 to 2000. He also established the Working Group of East Timorese Health Professionals in 1999, serving as its

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

from 1999 to 2000. Lobo led the Ministry of Social Affairs' health services division during the United Nations (UN). Lobo was taken into custody on 10 July 2001, after he allegedly hit his wife. On the same charges, he had previously been detained in February. In accordance with the accusations, over the course of their 15-year marriage, Lobo allegedly used violence on numerous occasions. At the trial, Lobo argued that the East Timorese culture gave him the right to know where his wife was and to have control over her. Lobo was placed under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

and granted a conditional parole from Becora prison on 25 July. He continued to be in charge of the couple's four kids. Reports on the case were used by a number of human rights and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

organizations to condemn the pervasive

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

in East Timor. A women's shelter was able to accommodate Lobo's wife. Her husband resisted filing for divorce. 2008 saw Lobo's assault and property damage trial, but he was found not guilty. In 2009, the matter was concluded. For the

2018 East Timorese parliamentary election Early parliamentary elections were held in East Timor on 12 May 2018 after the National Parliament (East Timor), National Parliament was dissolved by President Francisco Guterres on 26 January 2018. The Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP), ...

, Lobo was supposed to become Minister of Health again under Prime Minister

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 ...

, but President

Francisco Guterres Francisco Guterres, popularly known as Lú-Olo (born 7 September 1954), is an East Timorese politician who served as president of East Timor from 20 May 2017 to 20 May 2022. He is also the president of the political party Fretilin, and he was t ...

refused to appoint him, as well as other nominated members of the government, citing ethical reasons. In the case of Lobo, Guterres referred to the behavior towards his wife. Lobo has been assigned to the government's crisis team as the Working Group on Preventing and Mitigating the COVID-19 Outbreak's coordinator due to the threat of the

COVID-19 pandemic in East Timor The COVID-19 pandemic in East Timor is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have reached East Timor in March 2020. ...

and the commission to advise and evaluate strategies for the prevention and control of the coronavirus pandemic (

Tetum , nativename=Tetun , states= Indonesia East Timor , speakers=, mostly in Indonesia , date=2010–2011 , ref=e18 , speakers2=50,000 L2-speakers in Indonesia and East Timor , familycolor=Austronesian , fam2=Malayo-Polynesian , fam3= Central–East ...

: ''Komisaun Akompañamentu no Avaliasaun Estratéjia ba Prevensaun no Kombate Pandemia Koronavírus'', CAAEPC-COVID-19).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lobo, Sergio Living people 1958 births Health ministers of East Timor Diponegoro University alumni