President of East Timor

President of East Timor
President of East Timor
Template:Lang-pt; Template:Lang-tet
	Coat of arms of East Timor
	Flag of East Timor
	Incumbent; Francisco Guterres; since 20 May 2017
Style	His Excellency
Status	Head of State
Residence	Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace
Seat	Dili
Appointer	Direct election
Term length	Five years; Renewable once
Constituting instrument	Constitution of East Timor
Precursor	Governor of East Timor
Formation	28 November 1975; 20 May 2002
First holder	Francisco Xavier do Amaral; Xanana Gusmão
Salary	30,000 USD annually

The president of East Timor, officially the president of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (Template:Lang-pt, Template:Lang-tet), is the head of state in East Timor, elected by popular vote for a five-year term.

The president is ex officio head of the East Timorese Council of State. His or her executive powers are somewhat limited, though he or she is able to veto legislation. Following elections, the president usually appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition. As head of government the prime minister presides over the cabinet.

List of presidents of East Timor

Political parties

Fretilin
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT)
Democratic Party (PD)

Other factions

Independent

Symbols

† Assassinated

Presidents of East Timor during War for Independence

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
style="background:Template:Fretilin/meta/color; color:white;" \|1		Francisco Xavier do Amaral (1939–2012)	—	28 November 1975	7 December 1975	9 days	Fretilin
style="background:Template:Fretilin/meta/color; color:white;" \|2		Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (1946–1978)	—	7 December 1975	31 December 1978†^[a]	3 years, 24 days	Fretilin

Presidents of the Democratic Republic of East Timor

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political party
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;" \|3		Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	2002	20 May 2002	20 May 2007	5 years	Independent
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;" \|4		José Ramos-Horta (1949–)^[b]	2007	20 May 2007	20 May 2012	5 years	Independent
style="background:Template:National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction/meta/color; color:white;" \|–		Vicente Guterres (born 1956) Ad interim^[c]	—	11 February 2008	13 February 2008	2 days	CNRT
style="background:Template:Democratic Party (East Timor)/meta/color; color:white;" \|–		Fernando de Araújo (1962–2015) Ad interim^[c]	—	13 February 2008	17 April 2008	64 days	PD
style="background:Template:Independent politician/meta/color; color:black;" \|5	File:President Taur Matan Ruak.jpg	Taur Matan Ruak (born 1956)	2012	20 May 2012	20 May 2017	5 years	Independent
style="background:Template:Fretilin/meta/color; color:white;" \|6		Francisco Guterres (born 1954)	2017	20 May 2017	Incumbent	7 years, 212 days	Fretilin

Living former presidents

As of December 2024 there are three former living East Timorese presidents, as seen below. This listing excludes former acting presidents.

Living former presidents of East Timor
Xanana Gusmão
served 2002-2007
born 1946 (age 78)
José Ramos Horta
served 2007-2012
born 1949 (age 74)
Taur Matan Ruak
served 2012-2017
born 1956 (age 68)

Notes

^ Killed by the special forces of the Indonesian military.
^ Incapacitated from 11 February to 17 April 2008.
^ ^a ^b Served as President during the 2008 assassination attempts.

Latest election


Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Francisco Guterres	Fretilin	295,048	57.08
	António da Conceição	Democratic Party	167,794	32.46
	José Luís Guterres	Frenti-Mudança	13,513	2.61
	José Neves [de]	Independent	11,663	2.26
	Luís Tilman [de]	Independent	11,125	2.15
	Antonio Maher Lopes [de]	Socialist Party of Timor	9,102	1.76
	Ángela Freitas	Timorese Labor Party	4,353	0.84
	Amorim Vieira [de]	Independent	4,283	0.83
Total			516,881	100.00

Valid votes			516,881	97.74
Invalid/blank votes			11,932	2.26
Total votes			528,813	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			743,150	71.16
Source: CNE

References

^ [http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constitution_RDTL_ENG.pdf "Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste", Section 75.3: "The President of the Republic's term of office may be renewed only once."
^ "REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE - Jornal da República". www.mj.gov.tl.

[3] Killed by the special forces of the Indonesian military.

[4] Incapacitated from 11 February to 17 April 2008.

[acting2-5] Served as President during the 2008 assassination attempts.

[1] [http://timor-leste.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Constitution_RDTL_ENG.pdf "Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste", Section 75.3: "The President of the Republic's term of office may be renewed only once."

[mj.gov.tl-2] "REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE - Jornal da República". www.mj.gov.tl.

[1]

[2]

[a]

[b]

[c]

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