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Francisco Guterres

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Francisco Guterres
Official portrait, 2017
6th President of East Timor
In office
20 May 2017 – 20 May 2022
Prime MinisterRui Maria de Araújo
Mari Alkatiri
Taur Matan Ruak
Preceded byTaur Matan Ruak
Succeeded byJosé Ramos-Horta
1st President of the National Parliament
In office
20 May 2002 – 31 July 2007
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byFernando de Araújo
President of the Constituent Assembly
In office
15 September 2001 – 20 May 2002
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byHimself (as President of the National Parliament)
Personal details
Born(1954-09-07)7 September 1954
Ossu, Portuguese Timor
Died21 June 2026(2026-06-21) (aged 71)
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
PartyFretilin
SpouseCidália Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres
Signature

Francisco Guterres (7 September 1954 – 21 June 2026), popularly known as Lú-Olo, was an East Timorese politician who served as 6th president of East Timor from 2017 to 2022. A member of Fretilin, he also served as the first president of the National Parliament of East Timor from 2002 to 2007.

Guterres stood for Fretilin in the 2007 and 2012 presidential elections, but was defeated in the second round by independent candidates on both occasions. In the 2017 presidential election, he was elected as the 6th president of East Timor, supported by former prime minister Xanana Gusmão and the CNRT. Guterres ran for re-election in 2022 for a second term, but was defeated in a landslide in the second round by José Ramos-Horta.[1] He was considered to be a centre-left politician.[2]

Early life

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Francisco Guterres was born in Ossu, on 7 September 1954.[3] He attended the Santa Teresinha College in Ossu from 1963 to 1969.[4]

Guerilla activities

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Guterres fought against the Indonesian occupation of East Timor as a guerrilla fighter for Fretilin.[3] He joined Fretilin in 1974, and was a noted guerilla in the Viqueque Municipality. He was moved to the Ponta Leste region in 1976, and became Secretary of the Costal Zone, with Xanana Gusmão as his deputy. He was Delegate of the Commissioner of the Ponta Leste Sector from 1977 to 1981. The resistance formed the National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRM) in 1988, and the Fretilin Steering Committee (CDF) was created as the political arm of the CNRM; Guterres became secretary of the CDF in 1998.[4]

Political career

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At an extraordinary conference of Fretilin in Sydney, Australia, in 1998, Guterres was named general coordinator of the Council of Armed Resistance. In July 2001, he was elected president of Fretilin. Guterres was elected to the Constituent Assembly in the August 2001 parliamentary election, and he was subsequently elected by the Constituent Assembly as its president; when East Timor gained its independence in May 2002, the Constituent Assembly was transformed into the National Parliament, with Guterres as its president.[5]

In the 2007 presidential election, Guterres ran as Fretilin's candidate and campaigned on a populist platform.[4] However, some members of Fretilin blamed him for the 2006 East Timorese crisis and instead supported Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta, who was running as an independent candidate.[4] In the first round of the election, held on 9 April, Guterres took first place with 27.89% of the vote.[6][7] He and Ramos-Horta participated in the second round in May, and Guterres lost with 31% of the vote against 69% for Ramos-Horta. He accepted the result and congratulated Ramos-Horta.[8]

Guterres was re-elected to parliament in the June 2007 parliamentary election as the first name on Fretilin's candidate list.[9]

Presidency

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Guterres ran for president a second time in the 2012 presidential election as Fretilin's candidate. He won a plurality of votes in the first round,[10][11] but was defeated in the second round by Taur Matan Ruak.[12]

In the 2017 presidential election, Guterres ran again as the Fretilin candidate, with the support of former prime minister Gusmão and his party CNRT. Early results indicated that he won more than 50% of votes in the first round.[13] Guterres took office on 20 May 2017.[14]

The 2017 parliamentary election produced a minority government. Guterres called for new elections in 2018, which was won by the Alliance for Change and Progress while Fretilin did not gain any seats.[15]

The CNRT, Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO), and People's Liberation Party (PLP) formed a coalition government until 2020. KHUNTO and PLP formed a coalition government with Fretilin after Guterres refused to appoint ministers from the CNRT.[16]

Guterres ran for re-election in 2022, but was defeated in a landslide in the second round by Ramos-Horta.[1] Ramos-Horta was sworn in as president of East Timor in a peaceful transfer of power on 20 May 2022; the 20th independence anniversary of East Timor.[17]

Personal life

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Guterres was a Roman Catholic. He married Cidália Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres, with whom he had four children.[4] Guterres died on 21 June 2026 at the Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the age of 71.[3][18][19]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Timor-Leste presidential election: José Ramos-Horta wins in landslide". the Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ "East Timor Votes for President in Test for Young Nation". Taiwan News. Associated Press. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Cardoso, Suzana (22 June 2026). "Former East Timor president and independence fighter Francisco Guterres dies at 71". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 June 2026.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Feature: Fretilin Looms Over Timor Poll". The Australian. 6 April 2007. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 8 April 2007.
  5. ^ "Biografia – Francisco Guterres Lu Olo". Parlamento Nacional de Timor-Leste (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  6. ^ Results from the National Electoral Commission (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições Timor-Leste. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2008.Results from the National Electoral Commission (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições Timor-Leste. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2008.
  7. ^ "Two Set to Square Off for Presidency". heraldsun.com.au. AAP. 18 April 2007. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008.
  8. ^ "Guterres Congratulates Horta as New President of Timor-Leste". People's Daily Online. Xinhua. 11 May 2007. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
  9. ^ National Provisional Results from the 30 June 2007 Parliamentary Elections (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições Timor-Leste. 9 July 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2007.
  10. ^ "East Timor president out of poll race". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  11. ^ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: East Timor Presidential March 2012". www.electionguide.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Timor-Leste President 2012 Round 2". www.electionguide.org. Archived from the original on 1 February 2024. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  13. ^ Hodge, Amanda (22 March 2017). "Francisco Guterres Set to Become East Timor's Fourth President". The Australian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2020. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  14. ^ Davidson, Helen (20 May 2017). "'Much to be done': new president brings Timor-Leste hope for a better future". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  15. ^ Feijó 2019, pp. 215–216.
  16. ^ Lane & Lau 2025, p. 342.
  17. ^ "Nobel laureate sworn in as East Timor leader on independence anniversary". France 24. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  18. ^ "Líder istóriku Lú-Olo hakotu nia peregrinasaun iha Ospitál Malázia". Tatoli (in Tetum). 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.
  19. ^ "Morreu Francisco Guterres "Lu Olo", ex-Presidente de Timor-Leste". Público (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 21 June 2026. Retrieved 21 June 2026.

Works cited

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