Armindo Maia

Armindo Maia is an East Timorese politician and academic, and a member of the Fretilin political party. He is the incumbent Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, serving since June 2020 under the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Taur Matan Ruak. Between 2001 and 2006, he held the same position under governments led by UN administrator Sérgio Vieira de Mello and Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, respectively.

Armindo Maia
Maia in 2020
Minister of Education, Youth and Sport
Assumed office
24 June 2020 (2020-06-24)
Prime MinisterTaur Matan Ruak
Preceded byDulce Soares
Minister of Education, Culture and Youth / Education, Culture, Youth and Sports / Education and Culture
In office
30 September 2001 (2001-09-30) – 14 July 2006 (2006-07-14)
Prime MinisterMari Alkatiri
(from 20 May 2002)
GovernorSérgio Vieira de Mello
(UN administrator)
(to 19 May 2002)
Preceded byDulce Soares
Succeeded byRosária Corte-Real
Personal details
Political partyFretilin
Alma mater

Early life and career

Maia has a master's degree in Philosophy from Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. He was a pioneering staff member of the Universitas Timor Timur (UnTim), East Timor's first university, from when it was founded in 1986. By 1997, he was UnTim's Vice Rector for Academic Affairs.[1]

During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor that lasted until 1999, Maia was involved in a number of academic and political activities internationally in support of East Timor's independence movement. On a visit to the US in the late-1990s, he interacted with prominent East Timorese from the diaspora, including José Ramos-Horta and João Carrascalão. Following his return, the Indonesian regime therefore imposed restrictions on his freedom.[1]

However, in a contest in 1997 with Natalino Monteiro, UnTim's then Vice Rector for Students Affairs, for the vacant position of Rector, Maia, who had numerous supporters among the student body, emerged the victor, even though Monteiro was the pro-Indonesian candidate for the appointment, which required Indonesian military approval.[1][2]

On the establishment in November 2000 of UnTim's successor, the National University of East Timor (UNTL), Maia took office as its first Rector.[3]

Political career

On 30 September 2001, Maia, who was not then a member of a political party, was appointed as the Minister of Education, Culture and Youth in East Timor's II UNTAET Transitional Government under Sérgio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations administrator for East Timor.[4]

Maia retained that post, with added responsibility for Sports, in the I Constitutional Government of East Timor under Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, which took office on 20 May 2002.[5] When that government was restructured on 26 July 2005, Maia retained direct responsibility for education and culture, and José Manuel Fernandes was appointed as Secretary of State for Youth and Sports.[5] On 14 July 2006, the I Constitutional Government was replaced by the II Constitutional Government, and Maia was succeeded as Minister by Rosária Corte-Real.[6]

Maia then returned to UNTL, as a Senior Lecturer.[3] From July 2012, he was a PhD candidate at the State, Society and Governance in Melanesia Program in the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific in Canberra, Australia.[7]

On 24 June 2020, following a change in the governing coalition, and the admission of Fretilin to the VIII Constitutional Government, Maia was sworn in for a further term as Minister of Education, Youth and Sport.[8][9][10][11]

Honours

References
  1. "Indonesia-L". Area Studies: East Timor (r). 2 May 1997. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  2. "Natalino Monteiro". Masters of Terror. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  3. "2010 July to December - Final UNTL VRF Presentation for 2010 : The Rise and Fall of Secular Nationalism in East Timor". Indonesia and Timor-Leste. Charles Darwin University. Archived from the original on 14 May 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  4. "II UNTAET Transitional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  5. "I Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  6. "II Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
  7. "Armindo Maia: Profile". The Conversation. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  8. "Swearing-In and organic structure of the Eight Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  9. "Structure of the VIII Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  10. "Presidente timorense dá posse a 19 novos membros do Governo" [Timorese President swears in 19 new members of the Government]. SAPO (in Portuguese). Lusa. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  11. "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.
  12. "Decreto do Presidente da República n.° 34/2011 de 20 de Maio" [Decree of the President of the Republic n ° 34/2011 of May 20] (PDF). Jornal da República. I (20): 4760. 1 June 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2020.

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