Minister of Defense (Timor-Leste)

The Minister of Defense (Portuguese: Ministro da Defesa, Tetum: Ministru Defeza) is a senior member of the Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste heading the Ministry of Defense.

Minister of Defense
Ministro da Defesa (Portuguese) Ministru Defeza (Tetum)
Coat of Arms of Timor-Leste
Flag of Timor-Leste
Incumbent Pedro Klamar Fuik [de] since 1 July 2023
Ministry of Defense
Style	Minister (informal) His Excellency (formal, diplomatic)
Member of	the government
Reports to	Prime minister
Appointer	President (following proposal by the Prime minister)
Formation	1975 / 2005
First holder	Rogerio Lobato (1975) Roque Félix Rodrigues (2005)
Website	Official website

Functions

Under the Constitution of Timor-Leste, the Minister has the power and the duty:

1. to implement the policy defined for the Ministry of Defense;
2. to ensure relations between the Government and the other organs of the State in the area of responsibility of the Ministry.^[1]

Where the Minister is in charge of the subject matter of a government statute, the Minister is also required, together with the Prime Minister, to sign the statute.^[1]

Incumbent

The incumbent Minister of Defense is Pedro Klamar Fuik [de].^[2][3]

List of ministers

The following individuals have been appointed as the minister:

No.	Portrait	Name (born–died)	Term of office			Political party		Government (Prime minister(s))	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
Minister of National Defence
1		Rogério Lobato (born 1949)	1 December 1975	17 December 1975	16 days		Fretilin	1975 CoM (Lobato)
1975–1999: Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Minister of Defence
2		Roque Félix Rodrigues (born 1949)	26 July 2005	1 June 2006	310 days		Independent	I Constitutional (Alkatiri)
–		José Ramos-Horta (born 1949)	1 June 2006	10 June 2006	9 days
3			10 July 2006	19 May 2007	313 days			II Constitutional (Ramos-Horta)
4		Estanislau da Silva (born 1952)	19 May 2007	8 August 2007	81 days		Fretilin	III Constitutional (da Silva)
5		Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	8 August 2007	8 August 2012	5 years, 0 days		CNRT	IV Constitutional (Gusmão)
Minister of Defence and Security
5		Xanana Gusmão (born 1946)	8 August 2012	16 February 2015	2 years, 192 days		CNRT	V Constitutional (Gusmão)
Minister of Defence
6		Cirilo Cristóvão (1966–2019)	16 February 2015	3 October 2017	2 years, 229 days		CNRT	VI Constitutional (Araújo)
Minister of Defence and Security
7		José Agostinho Sequeira (born 1959)	3 October 2017	22 June 2018	262 days		Fretilin	VII Constitutional (Alkatiri)
Minister of Defence
8		Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus (born 1953)	22 June 2018	1 July 2023	5 years, 9 days		Independent	VIII Constitutional (Ruak)
9		Pedro Klamar Fuik [de] (born 1969)	1 July 2023	Incumbent	2 years, 45 days			IX Constitutional (Gusmão)

See also

• Timor Leste Defence Force