Armanda Berta dos Santos

Armanda Berta dos Santos (born 11 October 1974) is an East Timorese politician, and the leader of the Kmanek Haburas Unidade Nasional Timor Oan (KHUNTO) political party.

Armanda Berta dos Santos
Santos in 2020
Deputy Prime Minister of East Timor
In office
29 May 2020 – 1 July 2023
Serving with José Reis
Prime MinisterTaur Matan Ruak
Preceded byOffice re-established
Succeeded by
Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion
In office
22 June 2018 – 1 July 2023
Prime MinisterTaur Matan Ruak
Preceded byFlorentina da Conceição Pereira Martins Smith
Succeeded byVerónica das Dores
Member of the National Parliament
In office
2017–2018
Personal details
Born (1974-10-11) 11 October 1974
Political partyKHUNTO
SpouseJosé dos Santos Bucar
[1]

From May 2020 to July 2023, Santos was the more senior of East Timor's two Deputy Prime Ministers, serving in the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.

She was also that government's Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, serving in that position from when the government was formed in June 2018 until it was dissolved in July 2023.

Early life and education

Santos was born into an impoverished rural family in Maloa, Ainaro Municipality, Portuguese Timor (now East Timor). She has a Master's degree in Governance Management.[1][2]

Political career

Santos has been KHUNTO's leader since its foundation in 2011.[3] In the 2012 East Timorese parliamentary election, KHUNTO won 2.97% of the popular vote, and therefore failed by only 150 votes to overcome the 3% electoral threshold and have two members elected to the National Parliament.[4]

In the 2017 parliamentary election, Santos was elected to the National Parliament as the party's list leader.[5] She also became vice-chairman of the Committee for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications (Committee-E) and a member of the Committee for Economic Affairs and Development (Committee-D).[6]

In the early election in 2018, Santos was ranked #3 in the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP), of which KHUNTO was a part, and was again elected to the National Parliament.[7] On 22 June 2018, she was sworn in as Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion in the new VIII Constitutional Government, and therefore automatically had to give up her parliamentary seat.[8][9]

Following a breakdown of the AMP coalition in the first few months of 2020, the CNRT, which had been the lead party in that coalition, decided on 30 April 2020 that its members serving in the VIII Constitutional Government would resign their positions. The CNRT informed the Prime Minister of its decision on 8 May 2020, but KHUNTO continued to support the government.[10]

On 12 May 2020, the government approved the creation of two new positions of Deputy Prime Minister,[11] and on 29 May 2020, Santos was sworn in as holder of one of those new positions, while retaining her role as Minister for Social Solidarity and Inclusion.[12]

Early the following month, at a ceremony held in Suco Comoro, Dom Aleixo administrative post, Dili, Santos presided over the official launch of the payment of monetary support to households under the government's COVID-19 pandemic response.[13]

While serving as Deputy Prime Minister, Santos was also KHUNTO's candidate in the 2022 East Timorese presidential election.[14][15] In an election analysis published by the University of Melbourne, Australia, she was described as:

"... an enigmatic candidate ... [whose] presence and influence ... is held up by some Timorese as a testament to the greater diversity of gender, class and indeed 'traditional' Timorese culture allowed voice ...

... her political persona is marked by a potential intersecting disadvantage: her gender, her socio-economic status and rural background mark her out as an outsider from the usual Dili political and civil society elite."[2]

During the presidential election campaign, Santos was "mocked and denigrated on social media" after she objected to demands that the national presidential debate be conducted in Portuguese. As she pointed out, neither she nor the majority of East Timor's population would even be able to participate in, or even understand, any such debate.[2]

In the ensuing first round of the election process, she finished third out of the 16 candidates, with 56,690 votes (8.7% of the total);[16] that result was described by another commentator as part of a "... power transition from the old to younger generations, and from men to women ..."[17]

Santos's tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ended when the IX Constitutional Government took office on 1 July 2023.[18]

Personal life

Santos is married to José dos Santos Naimori Bucar, the leader of Kmanek Oan Rai Klaran (KORK), a ritual arts group in East Timor.[3][4] Naimori is also the founder of KHUNTO, but chose to assume only the position of adviser to the party, with Santos taking on the leadership.[3]

References
  1. "[Profile] Armanda Berta dos Santos". National Parliament of East Timor (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  2. Mok; Niner, Sara; Palmer, Lisa (4 March 2022). "More inclusive analysis needed of presidential elections in Timor-Leste". Election Watch. University of Melbourne. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. Martins, Jorge (23 May 2018). "Eleições em Timor-leste: maioria da coligação de Xanana não garante estabilidade" [East Timor elections: majority of Xanana coalition does not guarantee stability]. Esquerda (in Portuguese). Bloco de Esquerda. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. Pawelz, Janina; Myrttinen, Henri (2012). "Wahlen in Timor-Leste: Feuerprobe für Sicherheit und Konsolidierung" [Timor-Leste Elections: Trial by fire for security and consolidation] (PDF). GIGA Focus (in German). German Institute of Global and Area Studies (7/2012): 6. ISSN 1862-359X. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. "2017 Timor-Leste Parliamentary Election: List of Parliamentary slates from all parties" (PDF) (Press release). La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring & Analysis. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  6. "Comissões Especializadas Permanentes » Competencia e Composição" [Permanent Specialised Committees » Competencies and Composition] (in Portuguese). 2017. Archived from the original on 4 October 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. "Aviso: Lista Definitiva de Candidaturas Eleição Parlamentar 12 de Maio de 2018" [Notice: Final List of Candidates Parliamentary Election 12 May 2018] (PDF) (Press release) (in Portuguese). Democratic Republic of East Timor. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
  8. Luso (22 June 2018). "Primeiro grupo de membros do VIII Governo timorense tomou posse em Díli" [First group of members of the VIII Timorese Government take office in Dili]. SAPO 24 (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. "Structure of the VIII Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  10. Soares Martins, Evaristo (11 May 2020). "CNRT Members Told to Resign from Council of Ministers". Tatoli. Archived from the original on 15 May 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  11. Soares Martins, Evaristo (14 May 2020). "PM Taur Matan Ruak Gains Two Deputies in Government Restructure". Tatoli. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  12. Colo, Cipriano (29 May 2020). "Eight New Members Sworn into TL Cabinet". Tatoli. Archived from the original on 6 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  13. "Government initiates payment of monetary support to households in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic". Government of Timor-Leste. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2023.
  14. "Vice-primeira-ministra timorense formaliza candidatura às presidenciais" [Timorese deputy prime minister formalizes presidential candidacy]. www.cmjornal.pt (in European Portuguese). Lusa. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. Dile Payong, Stefanus (2 March 2022). "Kampanye Pilpres Timor Leste Dimulai Hari Ini, 16 Capres Siap Bertanding". belu.inews.id/ (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
  16. "Apuramento Eleisaun Presidente Repúblika 2022 (1st round)" (in Tetum). Archived from the original on 15 April 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  17. Chen, Li-Li (23 March 2022). "Observations From the First Round of Timor-Leste's Presidential Election". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  18. Martins, Filomeno (30 June 2023). "The list of structure of IX Constitutional Government announced in Official Gazette". Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.

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