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Mário Viegas Carrascalão (May 12, 1937 – May 19, 2017) was 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 diplomat. Carrascalão, a founder of the
Timorese Democratic Union The Timorese Democratic Union (, UDT) is a conservative political party in Timor-Leste. It was the first party to be established in the country on May 11, 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. History Early history (1974– ...
(UDT) in 1974 and the
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(SDP) in 2000, served as the governor of East Timor from 1981 to 1992 during the Indonesian occupation of the country. However, he re-joined the East Timorese government following the 1999 independence referendum and the transition to independence. He later served as a
deputy prime minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
within the IV Constitutional Government of then-
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 ...
Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
from 2009 to 2010.


Biography


Early life and education

Carrascalão was born in Venilale,
Baucau District Baucau (, ) is a municipality, and was formerly a district, of East Timor, on the northern coast in the eastern part of the country. The capital is also called Baucau (formerly Vila Salazar). The population of the municipality is 111,694 (c ...
,
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 ...
, on May 12, 1937. He attended elementary school and Colegio-Liceu Dr. Vieira Machado in
Dili Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...
. He then went to
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
to finish high school at Liceu Camões in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and attend college. He graduated from the Instituto Superior de Agronomia in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
in 1967 and the
Technical University of Lisbon The Technical University of Lisbon (UTL; , ) was a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of preexisting schools, and comprised the faculties and institutes of veterinary medicine; agricultural scienc ...
(now part of the
University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...
) in 1968. He returned to Portuguese Timor after university, where he headed the territory's Forestry and Agriculture Department.


Indonesian occupation

In 1974, Carrascalão founded the
Timorese Democratic Union The Timorese Democratic Union (, UDT) is a conservative political party in Timor-Leste. It was the first party to be established in the country on May 11, 1974, following the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. History Early history (1974– ...
(UDT) with Domingos Oliveira, César Mouzinho, António Nascimento, Francisco Lopes da Cruz, and Jacinto dos Reis in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. He and his brother, João Viegas Carrascalão, another member of the UDT, split following 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 and subsequent occupation of the country. João Carrascalão went into exile in Australia and Portugal, while Mário Viegas Carrascalão favored dialogue with the new Indonesian authorities. Following violence by Fretilin, Carrascalão initially fled to
Atambua Atambua is the regency seat of Belu Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The town stretches 8.5 km from north to south and 5 km from east to west, and is in the north of the western half of Timor Island. The town is located at an alt ...
and then
Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
. He joined the Indonesian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
' diplomatic corp in 1978 as a diplomat. The Indonesian government, under
Soeharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...
, appointed Carrascalão as the third governor of the new "province" from September 18, 1981 until September 18, 1992, when he was succeeded by the territory's last governor,
José Abílio Osório Soares José Abílio Osório Soares (; 2 June 1947 – 17 June 2007) was a Timorese politician. He was the last governor of the Indonesian province of East Timor before the country's independence. Personal life During the Indonesian occupation of E ...
. During his tenure as Governor, Carrascalão denounced violence against the East Timorese people and has been credited with saving lives. He arranged agreements to allow East Timorese students to attend Indonesian universities. Carrascalão held the first meetings between East Timorese provincial authorities and East Timorese rebels representing the
Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor 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 ...
, or
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 ...
. He personally met with
Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
in Lariguto in 1983 and in Ariana in 1990, which marked the beginning of dialogue between the resistance and Indonesian authorities. In November 2015 interview, Carrascalão explained his position of neutrality during the Indonesian occupation and conflict. Carrascalão explained that he had to remain neutral, because if he was seen as pro-independence, the Indonesian authorities would remove him from office. Meanwhile, he pursued policies which opened East Timor up to the rest of the world. He personally asked Soeharto to allow the British journalist Max Stahl to visit East Timor, something that he believed would not have occurred if he did not have a good working relationship with President Soeharto. Carrascalão was appointed as Indonesia's
Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...
to
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
from 1993 to 1997. He then became an advisor to Indonesian President
B. J. Habibie Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian politician, engineer and scientist who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. Less than three months after his inauguration as the seventh ...
, especially on East Timorese affairs, following the
Fall of Suharto On 21 May 1998, Suharto resigned as president of Indonesia following protests and riots across the country against his regime. His vice president, B. J. Habibie, took over the presidency. Suharto's grip on power weakened following severe ...
in 1998 and the reform period under Habibie. President Habibie and the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
held the East Timorese independence referendum on August 30, 1999, in which voters overwhelmingly supported independence.


East Timorese independence

Mário Viegas Carrascalão emerged as a key political figure in East Timor's transition from Indonesian occupation to full independence. He served as the Speaker of the National Council within the transitional government, as well as the Vice President of the National Council of Timorese Resistance. In 2000, Carrascalão founded the new
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...
(SDP) and became the fledgling party's leader. He entered government after East Timor's full independence in 2002. On March 5, 2009,
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 ...
Xanana Gusmão José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
appointed Carrascalão as deputy prime minister of management and state administration within the IV Constitutional Government as part of a
cabinet reshuffle A cabinet reshuffle or shuffle occurs when a head of government rotates or changes the composition of ministers in their cabinet, or when the head of state changes the head of government and a number of ministers. They are more common in parliam ...
. Carrascalão's Social Democratic Party (SDP), which he headed, was a member of Gusmão's
governing coalition A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an e ...
. The partnership between Prime Minister Gusmão and Deputy Prime Minister Carrascalão lasted until September 8, 2009, when Carrascalão resigned as deputy prime minister. In his resignation letter to Gusmão, Carrascalão lambasted the
coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
for failing to purchase construction supplies from a supplier he had recommended. Gusmão's government retorted that Carrascalão's preferred company would not have been able to fulfill the order and asked Carrascalão to retract his accusation. Carrascalão refused, writing, "At the age of 73, this is the first time anyone has ever called me stupid or a liar...My response is to resign from my position of deputy prime minister." He published an autobiography, "Timor – Before the Future", in 2006.
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 ...
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 ...
awarded the Collar of the Order of Timor-Leste, the nation's highest honor, in recognition of his service on May 18, 2017. Carrascalão died a day later at the Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares in
Dili, East Timor Dili ( Portuguese and Tetum: ''Díli'') is the capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountains. The climate is tropical, with distinct wet and ...
, on May 19, 2017, a week after his 80th birthday. His death was believed to be caused by a heart attack he suffered while driving alone through the Farol neighborhood of Dili. His car struck a pole and the sidewalk. He was taken to Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares where he died.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viegas Carrascalão, Mario 1937 births 2017 deaths Deputy prime ministers of Timor-Leste Government ministers of Timor-Leste Members of the National Parliament (Timor-Leste) Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste Social Democratic Party (Timor-Leste) politicians Timorese Democratic Union politicians East Timorese people of Portuguese descent Ambassadors of Indonesia to Romania Autobiographers Technical University of Lisbon alumni People from Baucau Municipality Indonesian Roman Catholics Indonesian Christians