First Lady of Timor-Leste

The first lady of East Timor (Portuguese: Primeira-dama de Timor-Leste) is the title attributed to the wife of the president of Timor-Leste.

First Lady of Timor-Leste
Flag of Timor-Leste
Incumbent Vacant since 20 May 2022
Residence	Nicolau Lobato Presidential Palace
Formation	1975

First ladies of Timor-Leste

First ladies of East Timor during the War for Independence

Portrait	Name	Term Began	Term Ended	President	Notes
	Lucia Osorio Soares	November 28, 1975	December 7, 1975	Francisco Xavier do Amaral	Lucia Osorio Soares married Francisco Xavier do Amaral in 1974, a year before East Timor's short-lived proclamation of independence. However, the couple separated shortly after their marriage. Francisco Xavier do Amaral never remarried.[1][2]
	Position vacant	December 7, 1975	December 31, 1978	Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (Acting president in exile)	Lobato's wife, Isabel Barreto Lobato, was executed by Indonesian forces in Dili on December 8, 1975, one day after the Indonesian invasion of East Timor.[3][4]

First ladies of Timor-Leste following the restoration of independence

Portrait	Name	Term Began	Term Ended	President	Notes
	Kirsty Sword Gusmão	May 20, 2002	May 20, 2007	Xanana Gusmão	Xanana Gusmão met Kirsty Sword, an Australian-born a teacher and human rights activist, in 1994 while he was serving a 20-year sentence as a political prison during the Indonesian occupation. The couple married in 2000, shortly after his release from prison.[5] Upon regaining independence in 2002, Sword become the first post-independence First Lady of East Timor.[5] Sword Gusmão focused on education during her tenure. In March 2015, Sword and Gusmão announced their separation.[5]
	Position vacant	May 20, 2007	February 11, 2008	José Ramos-Horta	José Ramos-Horta and his former wife, Ana Pessoa Pinto, had divorced prior to his victory in the 2007 East Timorese presidential election.[6] President Ramos-Horta was shot and seriously wounded in an assassination attempt on February 11, 2008. While her remained president, two interim presidents served in office from February 11, 2008, until April 17, 2008. Their wives held the positions of interim first lady during that time.
	Maria Goretti Guterres Marques	February 11, 2008	February 13, 2008	Vicente Guterres	[7]
	Joy Aquino Siapno	February 13, 2008	April 17, 2008	Fernando de Araújo	Jacqueline "Joy" Aquino Siapno, a political economist and analyst, served as interim First Lady during 2008.[8] Aquino Siapno, who is originally from the city of Dagupan in the Philippines, is the country's only first lady of Filipina origin.[8][9] She authored several books on the culture, history and politics of East Timor, Aceh, Indonesia, the Philippines and other regions of Southeast Asia.
	Position vacant	April 17, 2008	May 20, 2012	José Ramos-Horta	José Ramos-Horta returned to office full-time following an assassination attempt in March 2008. He and his former wife, Ana Pessoa Pinto, had divorced before he became president.[6]
	Isabel da Costa Ferreira	May 20, 2012	May 20, 2017	Taur Matan Ruak	[10]
	Cidália Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres	May 20, 2017	May 20, 2022	Francisco Guterres
	Position vacant	May 20, 2022	Present	José Ramos-Horta	José Ramos-Horta was reelected to office in the 2022 East Timorese presidential election. He and his former wife, Ana Pessoa Pinto, had divorced before he became president.[6]