Manuel Cárceres da Costa

Manuel Cárceres da Costa is an East Timorese politician and writer. Between June 2018 and March 2022, he was the Minister of Justice, serving in the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.

Manuel Cárceres da Costa
Cárceres da Costa in 2019
Minister of Justice
In office
22 June 2018 – 22 March 2022
Prime MinisterTaur Matan Ruak
Preceded byMaria Ângela Carrascalão
Succeeded byTiago Amaral Sarmento
Personal details
BornLacló, Manatuto,
Portuguese Timor
(now East Timor)
Political partyPeople's Liberation Party
Alma materUniversidade da Paz
ProfessionWriter

Early life

Costa is the son of two devoted Roman Catholic teachers who lived in Lacló, in the then District of Manatuto, where he was born. After attending primary school there, he received his secondary education at the Bishop of Medeiros College (Colegio de Bispo de Medeiros) in Dili.[1]

In compliance with a decision of his deceased father, Costa then entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima in Dili. Subsequently, after realising that he was unable to fulfil his parents' dream that he would become a priest, he left the seminary and enrolled at the Liceu Dr. Francisco Machado.[1]

By 1978, Costa had become a Fretilin member; that year he witnessed the destruction by the Indonesians of the East Timorese resistance base in Laclo.[2]

In 1999, Costa graduated with a degree in Public Administration.[3]

Career

After the withdrawal of the Indonesians from East Timor in 1999, Costa worked for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) and became the UNHCR's representative in East Timor for eight years.[1][4][5]

In the 2001 parliamentary election, Costa stood as an independent candidate to become a direct representative for the then district of Manatuto. He received only 838 votes (5.4%).[6]

From 2006 to 2010, Costa studied law, majoring in criminal law, at the Universidade da Paz (UNPAZ) in Dili. In February 2009, he became an advisor to Timor Telecom and, three months later, its director of Institutional Relations until 2018.[3][5]

On 22 June 2018, after being approached and supported by the People's Liberation Party (PLP), Costa was sworn in as Minister of Justice of the VIII Constitutional Government, under Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak. Up to that point, he had considered that his political career had ended in 2001.[1][5]

In an interview published in May 2019, Costa said that he had told Ruak during his pre-appointment meeting that "I come to serve, not add more numbers to ministerial positions."[5]

Costa remained in office as Minister of Justice notwithstanding the breakdown of the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP) coalition during the first few months of 2020, and the consequent restructuring of the government in mid-2020.[7][8] However, at the end of February 2022, the Prime Minister gave him permission to take leave for health reasons.[9] On 22 March 2022, he was replaced by Tiago Amaral Sarmento.[10][11]

Publications

In addition to his autobiographical book 26 anos, to testemunho (Dili: Livraria Central, 2010, 2nd edition 2013; OCLC 897041092) on the East Timorese struggle for freedom, Costa has written various poems on the same topic. He speaks Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian and English.[3]

References
  1. "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] (in Portuguese). SAPO. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  2. Part 5: The History of the Conflict (PDF; 564 kB) from the Chega! report of the CAVR
  3. "Mini Biografia Manuel Cárceres" [Mini Biography Manuel Cárceres]. SAPO Notícias (in Portuguese). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  4. Fointuna, Yemris (17 June 2002). "E. Timor accedes to demands by former militia commander". Jakarta Post. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  5. Staff writer (14 May 2019). "East Timor Minister of Justice, Cárceres Interview Part I: I am here to work, Not just to add Minister's Position Number". Tempo Timor. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  6. "East Timor Constituent Assembly Election of 30 August 2001". East Timor elections website. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
  7. "Swearing-In and organic structure of the Eight Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
  8. "Timor-Leste's Eighth Constitutional Government (updated 17 July 2020)". La'o Hamutuk website. La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  9. Gusmao, Antonia Maia S. (28 February 2022). "Kondisaun saúde, Ministru Justisa Manuel Cárceres husu lisensa ba PM" [The Minister of Justice Manuel Carceres requested leave from the Prime Minister for a health condition] (in Tetum). Tatoli. Retrieved 12 March 2023.
  10. Martins, Filomeno (22 March 2022). "'Lú Olo' calls on newly appointed cabinet members to better serve Timorese people". Tatoli. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  11. "Swearing-in of the four new members of Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.

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