Francisco Guterres
President of East Timor from 2017 to 2022
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Francisco Guterres (7 September 1954 – 21 June 2026), popularly known as Lú-Olo, was an East Timorese politician who served as the 6th president of Timor-Leste 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.
Mari Alkatiri
Taur Matan Ruak
Francisco Guterres | |
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2017 | |
| 6th President of Timor-Leste | |
| In office 20 May 2017 – 20 May 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Rui Maria de Araújo Mari Alkatiri Taur Matan Ruak |
| Preceded by | Taur Matan Ruak |
| Succeeded by | José Ramos-Horta |
| 1st President of the National Parliament | |
| In office 20 May 2002 – 31 July 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Fernando de Araújo |
| President of the Constituent Assembly | |
| In office 15 September 2001 – 20 May 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Himself (as President of the National Parliament) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 September 1954 Ossu, Portuguese Timor |
| Died | 21 June 2026 (aged 71) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Party | Fretilin |
| Spouse | Cidália Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres |
| Signature |  |
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
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
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
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
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 and death
Guterres was a Roman Catholic. He married Cidália Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres, with whom he had four children.[4]
Guterres died at the Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 21 June 2026, at the age of 71.[3][18][19]
East Timor national government declared a week of mourning for the ex-president's passing with half-raised flag[20]. The Timorese people gathered in the funeral parlour and send off was attended by many people.