José Reis (politician)
{{Short description|East Timorese politician}}
{{other people|José Reis}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = José Reis
| honorific-suffix =
| image = 2020-06-27 José Reis.jpg
| caption = Reis in 2020
| office1 = Deputy Prime Minister of East Timor
| term_start1 = 24 June 2020
| term_end1 = 1 July 2023
| alongside1 = Armanda Berta dos Santos
| primeminister1 = Taur Matan Ruak
| predecessor1 = Office re-established
| successor1 = {{ubl|Francisco Kalbuadi Lay and|Mariano Sabino Lopes}}
| office2 = Minister of Planning and Territory
| term_start2 = 24 June 2020
| term_end2 = 1 July 2023
| primeminister2 = Taur Matan Ruak
| predecessor2 = Office established
| successor2 = Office abolished
| office3 = Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister for Governance Affairs
| term_start3 = 3 October 2017
| term_end3 = 22 June 2018
| primeminister3 = Mari Alkatiri
| predecessor3 = Office established
| successor3 = Office abolished
| office4 = Secretary of State for the Coordination of Region I (Lautem, Viqueque and Baucau)
| term_start4 = 26 July 2005
| term_end4 = 8 August 2007
| primeminister4 = {{ubl|Mari Alkatiri|{{small|(to 26 June 2006)}}|José Ramos-Horta|{{small|(26 June 2006–19 May 2007)}}|Estanislau da Silva|{{small|(from 19 May 2007)}}}}
| predecessor4 = Office established
| successor4 = Office abolished
| office5 = Member of the National Parliament
| term_start5 = 2001
| term_end5 = 2005
| birth_name = José Maria dos Reis Costa
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1956|02|05|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence =
| alma_mater =
| party = Fretilin
| spouse =
| children =
| website =
| footnotes =
| profession =
}}
José Maria dos Reis Costa is an East Timorese politician, and a member of the Fretilin political party.
From June 2020 to July 2023, he was the more junior of East Timor's two Deputy Prime Ministers,The Constitution of Timor-Leste provides, in sections 104 and 105, for the appointment of officials referred to in its English language version as "Deputy Ministers". In other English language publications, those officials are commonly referred to as "Vice Ministers", even though the word "Vice", in context, arguably has a different meaning in English from the word "Deputy". In this article, the constitutional expression "Deputy" is used. and also the Minister of Planning and Territory, in the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.
Previously, he served as a Minister, and as a Secretary of State, in earlier Constitutional Governments.
Early life and career
Reis is a member of a noble family from Bucoli in the Baucau Municipality of East Timor. During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor, he worked as an official in the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.{{cite book |last1=Jolliffe |first1=Jill |title=Finding Santana: A perilous journey in search of an East Timorese guerilla hero |url={{GBurl|bcbWttFiL20C}} |date=2011 |publisher=Wakefield Press |location=Kent Town, South Australia |isbn=9781862549258 |page=104}}
According to Australian journalist and author Jill Jolliffe, Reis's older brother, {{ill|Vicente dos Reis|de|lt=Vicente}}, "... was one of a group of radical students who ... studied in Portugal and [fell] under the influence of Marxist-Leninist ideas. Yet he [was] never ... connected with fanaticism, nor with the ill-treatment of alleged dissidents ... On the contrary, there [are] many stories of his role as a gentle teacher behind guerilla lines, and he ... died a lingering death from untreated wounds ..."
Political career
Reis is a long time member of Fretilin. In 2001, he was elected as a Fretilin candidate to the Constituent Assembly of East Timor, from which the National Parliament emerged in 2002.{{cite web |title=LISTA ALFABÉTICA DOS DEPUTADOS |url=http://www.parlamento.tl/LISTA_ALF.htm |website=National Parliament of East Timor |access-date=27 November 2020 |language=pt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928024904/http://www.parlamento.tl/LISTA%20ALF.htm |archive-date=28 September 2007 }}{{cite web |title=Deputados Legislatura 2002-2007 |url=https://www.parlamento.tl/conteudo/deputados-legislatura-2002-2007 |website=National Parliament of East Timor |access-date=9 March 2023 |language=pt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702122520/https://www.parlamento.tl/conteudo/deputados-legislatura-2002-2007 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite book |last1=Devereux |first1=Annemarie |title=Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights: A Preliminary History |date=2015 |publisher=ANU Press |location=Acton, ACT |isbn=9781925022391 |page=307 |url=https://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p318471/pdf/book.pdf}}
On 26 July 2005, as part of a restructure by Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri of the I Constitutional Government in response to tensions within the Fretilin party, Reis was sworn in to one of five new positions in the executive, the key electoral role of Secretary of State for the Coordination of Region I (Lautem, Viqueque and Baucau).{{cite web |title=I Constitutional Government |url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=129&lang=en |website=Government of Timor-Leste |access-date=27 November 2020}}{{cite book |last1=Nuttall |first1=Ruth |title=Political Continuity and Conflict in East Timor: A History of the 2006 Crisis |date=2021 |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon, Oxon |isbn=9780367647780 |url={{GBurl|oMIrEAAAQBAJ}} |chapter=Introduction}} He held that office until 8 August 2007.{{cite web |title=II Constitutional Government |url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=130&lang=en |website=Government of Timor-Leste |access-date=3 January 2019}}{{cite web |title=III Constitutional Government |url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=132&lang=en&lang=en |website=Government of Timor-Leste |access-date=27 November 2020}}{{cite web |title=Gusmao sworn in as East Timor PM |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6936181.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=27 November 2020 |date=8 August 2007}}
Reis's house was burned to the ground during the 2006 East Timorese crisis.{{cite news |last1=Maynard |first1=Roger |title=Australian troops patrol East Timor capital |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jun/28/easttimor |access-date=27 November 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=28 June 2006}}
On 3 October 2017, Reis was sworn in as Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister for Governance Affairs in the VII Constitutional Government.{{cite news |title=PR timorense assina novo decreto de nomeação membros do Governo, mais duas mulheres |trans-title=Timorese President signs new decree to appoint members of the Government, plus two women |url=https://www.dn.pt/lusa/pr-timorense-assina-novo-decreto-de-nomeacao-membros-do-governo-mais-duas-mulheres-8814417.html |access-date=27 November 2020 |language=pt |work=Diário de Notícias |agency=Lusa |date=2 October 2017}} He remained in that office until the formation of the VIII Constitutional Government on 22 June 2018.{{cite web |title=Transitional Ministerial Administration |url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=19931&lang=en |website=Government of Timor-Leste |access-date=27 November 2020 |date=25 June 2018}}
Following a change in the governing coalition, and the admission of Fretilin to the VIII Constitutional Government, Reis was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning and Territory in that government on 24 June 2020.{{cite web |title=Swearing-In and organic structure of the Eight Constitutional Government |url=http://timor-leste.gov.tl/?p=24746&lang=en&n=1 |website=Government of Timor-Leste |date=24 June 2020|access-date=26 November 2020}}{{cite web |title=Timor-Leste's Eighth Constitutional Government (updated 17 July 2020) |url=https://www.laohamutuk.org/misc/gov8/18VIIIGov.htm |website=La'o Hamutuk website |publisher=La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis |access-date=22 December 2020}}
In April 2021, Reis, in both of his official capacities, led the government's response to Cyclone Seroja and its associated rain and flooding, which he described as the worst incident in East Timor in 40 years.{{cite news |last1=Diela |first1=Tabita |title=Floods, landslides, kill dozens in Indonesia and East Timor |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/floods-landslides-kill-dozens-indonesia-east-timor-2021-04-04/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |work=Reuters |date=2021-04-04 |language=en}} As well as making a statement to the media, he participated in a visit by government officials to the St John Paul II area at Tasitolu to observe the damage caused by the flooding and support its victims,{{cite news |last1=Piedade da Freitas |first1=Domingos |title=Governantes visitam local de acolhimento de vítimas das inundações em Tasi-Tolu |trans-title=Government officials visit a shelter for flood victims at Tasi-Tolu |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/04/06/governantes-visitam-local-de-acolhimento-de-vitimas-das-inundacoes-em-tasi-tolu/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-04-06 |language=pt}} and, later, chaired an official meeting to analyse an interim report by a technical team that had surveyed the damage, and estimated repair costs at {{USD|24 million}}.{{cite news |last1=Gusmão |first1=Antónia |title=CAFI analisa relatório técnico sobre danos causados pelas inundações |trans-title=CAFI Analyses technical report on flood damage |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/04/19/cafi-analisa-relatorio-tecnico-sobre-danos-causados-pelas-inundacoes/ |access-date=2023-04-27 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-04-19 |language=pt}}
During July 2021, Reis, as extraordinary envoy of the President of East Timor, Francisco Guterres,{{cite news |last1=Freitas |first1=Domingos Piedade |title=Presidente República nomeia José Reis como enviado extraordinário na Cimeira da CPLP |trans-title=President of the Republic appoints José Reis as extraordinary envoy at the CPLP Summit |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/06/30/presidente-republica-nomeia-jose-reis-como-enviado-extraordinario-na-cimeira-da-cplp/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-06-30 |language=pt}} led an 18-member East Timorese delegation to the 12th Summit of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries ({{langx|pt|Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa}}, CPLP) in Luanda, Angola.{{cite news |last1=Freitas |first1=Domingos Piedade |title=Dezoito membros da delegação de Timor-Leste viajarão amanhã para participarem na Cimeira da CPLP |trans-title=Eighteen members of the Timor-Leste delegation will travel tomorrow to participate in the CPLP Summit |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/07/05/dezoito-membros-da-delegacao-de-timor-leste-viajarao-amanha-para-participarem-na-cimeira-da-cplp/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-07-05 |language=pt}} En route to the Summit, he paid a courtesy call to Lisbon, Portugal, where he met with Portuguese leaders to discuss the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries.{{cite news |last1=Freitas |first1=Domingos Piedade |title=Presidente da República valoriza trabalho da delegação de Timor-Leste na Cimeira da CPLP |trans-title=President of the Republic values the work of the Timor-Leste delegation at the CPLP Summit |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/08/06/presidente-da-republica-valoriza-trabalho-da-delegacao-de-timor-leste-na-cimeira-da-cplp/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-08-06 |language=pt}} On 17 July 2021, in the course of a speech at the general debate of the Summit, he said [translation]:
{{quote|"We need to move towards prosperity and we must do so without neglecting other CPLP objectives. In fact, the CPLP gets it right, based on the history, language and culture that make its members cohesive. If building requires looking to the past, looking to the future requires keeping our nature in mind."{{cite news |last1=Freitas |first1=Domingos Piedade |title=CPLP deve prestar atenção à prosperidade, conjuntura atual e paz |trans-title=CPLP must pay attention to prosperity, current situation and peace |url=https://pt.tatoli.tl/2021/07/17/cplp-deve-prestar-atencao-a-prosperidade-conjuntura-atual-e-paz/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |agency=Tatoli |date=2021-07-21 |language=pt}}}}
At the Summit, the member countries signed an agreement providing for mobility of doctors, business people and academics between them. Reis later confirmed that the East Timorese delegation to the Summit had addressed the preparation of the approved processes for the agreed mobilities.
Reis's tenure as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ended when the IX Constitutional Government took office on 1 July 2023.{{cite news |last1=Martins |first1=Filomeno |title=The list of structure of IX Constitutional Government announced in Official Gazette |url=https://en.tatoli.tl/2023/06/30/the-list-of-structure-of-ix-constitutional-government-announced-in-official-gazette/09/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |agency=Tatoli |date=2023-06-30}}
References
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External links
{{commons category-inline|José Reis}}
- {{Facebook | vpm.mpoJoseReis | José Reis }} – official page of the (now ex-) Deputy Prime Minister
{{portal bar|Asia|Biography|Politics|2010s|Current events}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Reis, Jose}}
Category:Deputy prime ministers of Timor-Leste
Category:Government ministers of Timor-Leste
Category:Members of the National Parliament (Timor-Leste)