Brigadier General Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus (born 27 March 1953) is an
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 ...
ese politician and former senior officer in the
Timor Leste Defence Force
The Timor-Leste Defence Force (, or Falintil-FDTL, often F-FDTL) is the military of Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor). The F-FDTL was established in February 2001 and comprises two infantry battalions, small naval and air components and seve ...
(F-FDTL). From July 2018 to July 2023, he was
Minister of Defense
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...
, serving in the
VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
Taur Matan Ruak
José Maria de Vasconcelos (born 10 October 1956), popularly known as Taur Matan Ruak (Tetum for "Two Sharp Eyes"), is an East Timorese politician who served as 9th prime minister of East Timor from 2018 to 2023. He also served as 5th presi ...
. Between October 2011 and July 2018, he was the Deputy Chief of the F-FDTL.
Early life and career
Filomeno was born in
Bobonaro
Bobonaro is a town in Bobonaro Subdistrict, Bobonaro District, East Timor., United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency The district capital is not in Bobonaro, but is in Maliana
Maliana is a city in East Timor, 149 kilomet ...
, in the western part (which is known as
Loro Munu) of the then
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor () was a Portuguese colony on the territory of present-day East Timor from 1702 until 1975. During most of this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Dutch East Indies.
The first Europeans to arrive in the regio ...
. In 1973, he graduated from the
Liceu Dr. Francisco Machado after completing seven years of secondary education.
From September 1971 to August 1975, Filomeno worked in the colonial financial administration of Portuguese Timor. In 1974, he was one of the founders of the
Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT), which, in September 1975, renamed itself
Fretilin
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (, abbreviated as Fretilin) is a separatist organization turned centre-left political party in Timor-Leste. It presently holds 19 of 65 seats in the National Parliament. Fretilin formed the ...
. In November 1975, Fretilin
unilaterally declared the independence of Portuguese Timor, and its Central Committee appointed Filomeno as Vice Secretary of Justice, assisting
Justino Mota.
[
]
Military career
Upon the Indonesian invasion of East Timor
The Indonesian invasion of East Timor, known in Indonesia as Operation Lotus (), began on 7 December 1975 when the Indonesian military (ABRI/TNI) invaded East Timor under the pretext of anti-colonialism and anti-communism to overthrow the Fre ...
in 1975, Filomeno joined FALINTIL, which was then the military wing of Fretilin. From March to June 1976, he was a Platoon Commander, and from June to September 1976 he served as Commander of the then Liquiçá Subdistrict. Between September and November 1976, he was Secretary of the then Liquiçá District, and from January to October 1977, Political Assistant in the Northern Frontier Sector ().[
In late 1977, Filomeno was appointed as 2nd Commander of the Northern Frontier Sector. Soon afterwards, he was promoted to Commander of that Sector.][ When the situation became too critical and there was a risk of death from disease and hunger, he contacted the ]Indonesian armed forces
The Indonesian National Armed Forces (; abbreviated as TNI) are the military forces of the Republic of Indonesia. It consists of the Army (''TNI-AD''), Navy (''TNI-AL''), and Air Force (''TNI-AU''). The President of Indonesia is the Supreme ...
in Fatubessi, Ermera. On 7 February 1979, most of the East Timorese military and civilian leaders surrendered the Northern Frontier to the Indonesian Battalion 512.
In the aftermath of the visit of Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005.
In his you ...
to East Timor in 1989, the Indonesian army subjected potential troublemakers to preventive detention to avert demonstrations in support of East Timorese independence. Among them was Filomeno, who was arrested in June 1990 and taken to the military base in Dili.
On 1 February 2001, according to a process that had begun in 1999, FALANTIL was transformed into the Defence Force of the soon-to-be independent Democratic Republic of East Timor, under the supervision of the United Nations. Simultaneously, Filomeno was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and appointed as chief of logistics. In February 2004, he became the Naval Commander, and in 2006 he was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
. In September 2007, he was transferred to the post of Deputy Chief of the Defence Force, which he held until August 2008, when he was appointed as head of the Development Office of Planning for the "Force 2020" project.[
Meanwhile, in early 2008, Filomeno served as first commander of , a Joint Command of East Timor's Defence Force and several other agencies. The Joint Command was established to go after and capture Gastão Salsinha, the key living person suspected of committing the unsuccessful 11 February 2008 attacks on the ]President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
and Prime Minister of East Timor
The prime minister of Timor-Leste, officially the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of government of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
The president of Timor-Leste is the head of state. The presi ...
. On 25 April 2008, Salsinha agreed to surrender, and three days later the members of his group arrived in Dili and were arrested.
In January 2010, Filomeno was appointed as Chief of Staff, and in October 2011 he was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Defence Force.[
On 9 February 2015, President Taur Matan Ruak announced that he would appoint Filomeno as the new Chief of the Defence Force to succeed Lere Anan Timur, and promote him from brigadier general to major general. However, such an appointment would have been at odds with the view of the Council of Ministers of the VI Constitutional Government, which had proposed on 12 October 2015 that Timur's mandate be renewed.]
Following further discussions in April 2016, the President announced on 15 April 2016 that he had accepted one of two proposals presented by the Government on 13 April 2016. Under that proposal, which the President described as the "generational transition" proposal, he would appoint Captain of sea and war Donaciano Gomes, ''nom de guerre
A ''nom de guerre'' (, 'war name') is a pseudonym chosen by someone to use when they are involved in a particular activity, especially fighting in a war.
In Ancien régime, ''ancien régime'' Kingdom of France, France it would be adopted by each n ...
'' , as Chief of Defence Forces (CEMGFA), and Colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
, ''nom de guerre'' Coliati, as his deputy. The President had previously rejected the other proposal, which had been that the mandates of Timur and Filomeno would be extended for two another years; both of them would now retire.
In the end, however, none of the proposed changes took place during the tenure of President Taur Matan Ruak. Eventually, on 5 October 2017, after the VII Constitutional Government had been formed, new President Francisco Guterres
Francisco Guterres, popularly known as Lú-Olo (born 7 September 1954), is an East Timorese politician who served as 6th president of East Timor from 2017 to 2022. He is also the president of the political party Fretilin, and he was the first ...
accepted a proposal by the new Government that Timur's and Filomeno's terms of office be extended for another year.
Political career
In June 2018, Filomeno was nominated as Minister of Defense of the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor that was being formed by Taur Matan Ruak, and resigned as Deputy Chief of the F-FDTL. However, he was absent from the Constitutional Government's swearing-in ceremony on 22 June 2018.
There were administrative problems. Filomeno's formal exoneration from his post as Deputy Chief of the F-FDTL had not yet been completed administratively. Such an exoneration can be pronounced by the President, but only on a proposal by the government, which had not yet been forthcoming.
On 5 July 2018, Filomeno was appointed as Minister by President Guterres; he was sworn in on 9 July 2018. He remained in that office notwithstanding the breakdown of the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP) coalition during the first few months of 2020, and the consequent restructuring of the government in mid-2020.
Filomeno's tenure as Minister ended when the IX Constitutional Government took office on 1 July 2023. He was succeeded by Pedro Klamar Fuik.
Personal life
Filomeno is the son of Miguel Faria de Jesus and Norberta Ximenes de Jesus. He is married to Maria José dos Mártires de Carvalho, and the couple has five children.[
]
Honours
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus, Filomeno da Paixao de
East Timorese military personnel
Independent politicians in Timor-Leste
Living people
Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste
1953 births
21st-century East Timorese politicians
Ministers of defense of Timor-Leste