Mari Alkatiri facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mari Bin Amude Alkatiri
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Alkatiri in 2020
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| 3rd and 8th Prime Minister of East Timor | |
| In office 15 September 2017 – 22 June 2018 |
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| President | Francisco Guterres |
| Preceded by | Rui Maria de Araújo |
| Succeeded by | Taur Matan Ruak |
| In office 20 May 2002 – 26 June 2006 |
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| President | Xanana Gusmão |
| Preceded by | António Duarte Carvarino (1979) |
| Succeeded by | José Ramos-Horta |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 November 1949 Dili, Portuguese Timor (now East Timor) |
| Political party | Fretilin |
| Alma mater | Eduardo Mondlane University |
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Mari bin Amude Alkatiri (born 26 November 1949) is a politician from East Timor. He served as the Prime Minister of East Timor twice. His first time was from May 2002 to June 2006. He became Prime Minister again from September 2017 to May 2018.
He is the Secretary-General of the Fretilin political party. He also used to be the President of the Special Administrative Region of Oecusse. Mari Alkatiri is from the Hadhrami Arab group. His family came from a place now known as Yemen. He is one of the few Muslim politicians in East Timor, a country where most people are Christian. During his second time as Prime Minister, he focused on important issues. These included protecting the environment and culture. He also worked on getting East Timor to join ASEAN. Other goals were free public education and health services. He also aimed to improve the country's economy.
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Early Life and Education
Mari Alkatiri's family were merchants from the Hadhrami people. They lived in what was then called Portuguese Timor. He was born in Dili and had ten brothers and sisters. In 1970, he left East Timor to study in Portuguese Angola.
He later returned to East Timor. He helped start the Fretilin political party. He became the Minister for Political Affairs for the party. On 28 November 1975, Fretilin declared East Timor's independence. Alkatiri was sent overseas on a special mission.
Life in Exile
On 7 December 1975, Indonesia invaded the new nation. Alkatiri and his colleagues could not go back home. He set up the Fretilin office in Maputo, Mozambique.
During the 24 years that Indonesia occupied East Timor, Alkatiri lived in exile. He lived in Angola and Mozambique. He worked as a surveyor. He also studied law at Eduardo Mondlane University in Maputo. From 1992 to 1998, he worked as a legal consultant. He also advised the Parliament of Mozambique on international and constitutional law.
Becoming Prime Minister
On 20 May 2002, East Timor became fully independent. The United Nations handed over power to the new government. Alkatiri's Fretilin party won many votes in the elections. Because of this, he was chosen as the first Prime Minister of the new country.
Challenges and Resignation
In May 2006, his government faced a difficult time. About half of the country's security forces rebelled. There were riots and looting in Dili, the capital city. On 21 June 2006, Xanana Gusmão, who was the President, asked Alkatiri to resign. If Alkatiri did not resign, Gusmão said he would.
Many people protested and asked Alkatiri to step down. On 25 June, leaders of the Fretilin party met. They decided to keep Alkatiri as Prime Minister. However, the Foreign Minister, José Ramos-Horta, resigned right after this decision. The police chief also called for Alkatiri to be arrested.
To help end the problems, Alkatiri resigned on 26 June 2006. He said he was ready to resign to prevent President Gusmão from resigning. Later, a United Nations group looked into the accusations against Alkatiri. They found that the accusations were not true. They also said that President Gusmão had made some unhelpful statements during the crisis.
Later Political Career
In the June 2007 parliamentary election, Alkatiri was elected to parliament again. He was a top candidate for the Fretilin party.
In August 2007, Alkatiri said he would be Fretilin's candidate for Prime Minister. His party, Fretilin, won the most seats in parliament. However, another group of parties led by Xanana Gusmão formed a coalition. This coalition had more seats together.
President José Ramos-Horta decided that Gusmão's coalition would form the government. Alkatiri said this decision was against the country's rules. Some Fretilin supporters protested. Alkatiri said the party would try to challenge the decision legally.
In September 2017, Alkatiri was voted as East Timor's Prime Minister again. In the 2018 elections, he gave up his seat in parliament.
Achievements
Mari Alkatiri is known as a skilled negotiator. He helped East Timor get a larger share of the oil resources from the Timor Sea. This was a big achievement for the country. He was supported by Portugal. However, the Australian government at the time did not agree with his approach.
Alkatiri is also an Honorary Member of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation.
Honours
Grand-Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal (February 14, 2016)
See also
In Spanish: Mari Alkatiri para niños
