East Timor (Indonesian: Timor Timur) was a province of Indonesia between 1976 and 1999, during the Indonesian occupation of the country. Its territory corresponded to the previous Portuguese Timor and to the present-day independent country of Timor-Leste.

From 1702 to 1975, East Timor was an overseas territory of Portugal, called "Portuguese Timor".^[1] In 1974, Portugal initiated a gradual decolonisation process of its remaining overseas territories, including Portuguese Timor. During the process, a civil conflict between the different Timorese parties erupted. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and formally annexed the territory in 1976, declaring it Indonesia's 27th province and renaming it "Timor Timur". The United Nations, however, declared this occupation illegal, continuing to consider Portugal as the legitimate administering power of East Timor.^[2] Following the end of Indonesian occupation in 1999, as well as a United Nations administered transition period, East Timor became formally independent of Portugal in 2002 and adopted the official name of Timor-Leste.

From 1702 to 1975, East Timor was a colony of Portugal, officially designated in later years as the Portuguese overseas province of Timor, commonly referred to as "Portuguese Timor."^[3] Portuguese control was largely confined to coastal areas until the late 19th century, when colonial administration was consolidated in the interior through military campaigns.^[4] The colony remained under Portuguese rule with minimal economic development, relying primarily on coffee exports.^[5]

In April 1974, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to a shift in government policy, initiating a decolonization process for its overseas territories, including Portuguese Timor.^[6] Various Timorese political parties emerged, including the left-wing Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin), the pro-integration Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), and the Apodeti party, which advocated integration with Indonesia.^[7] Tensions between Fretilin and UDT escalated into a civil war in August 1975, with Fretilin emerging victorious and gaining control of the capital, Dili.^[8] As a result, the Portuguese governor and his staff relocated their seat of administration to Atauro Island.^[9]

On 28 November 1975, Fretilin unilaterally declared the independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor (Portuguese: República Democrática de Timor-Leste) from Portugal. Portugal did not recognize the declaration and the Portuguese governor continued to formally administer the province from Atauro, albeit with limited authority over the rest of East Timor.^[10]

Nine days later, Indonesia began an invasion of East Timor proper. Following the invasion, the Portuguese governor and his staff left Atauro aboard two Portuguese warships. As a statement of Portuguese sovereignty, Portugal maintained those warships patrolling the waters around East Timor until May 1976.^[11]

On 17 July 1976, Indonesia formally annexed East Timor as its 27th province and changed its official name to Timor Timur, the Indonesian translation of "East Timor". The use of the Portuguese language was then forbidden, as it was seen as a relic of colonisation.^[12]

The annexation was not recognised by the United Nations and was only recognised by one country Australia in 1979.^[13][14] The United Nations continued to recognise Portugal as the legitimate administering power of East Timor.^[13]

The Indonesians left in 1999 and East Timor came under the administration of the United Nations.^[15]

After the re-establishment of the independence of East Timor in 2002, the East Timorese government requested that the name Timor-Leste be used in place of "East Timor". This is to avoid the Indonesian term and its reminder of the Indonesian occupation.^[16]

As with all provinces of Indonesia, executive authority was vested in a Governor and Vice-Governor elected by the Regional Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Daerah, DPRD) every five years. Legislative authority was vested in the DPRD, both in province and regency level.

Below are governors of East Timor Province from 1976 to 1999:

Governors of Timor Timur during Indonesian occupation
No.	Portrait	Officeholders	Tenure		Notes	Head of state (Term)
			From	Until
130		Arnaldo dos Reis Araújo Governor	3 August 1976	19 September 1978		Suharto President of Indonesia (27 March 1968 – 21 May 1998) B. J. Habibie President of Indonesia (21 May 1998 – 20 October 1999)
131		Guilherme Maria Gonçalves Governor	19 September 1978	17 September 1981
132		Mário Viegas Carrascalão Governor	18 September 1981	18 September 1992
133		José Abílio Osório Soares Governor	18 September 1992	19 October 1999

Composition of the Regional Representative Council between 1980 and 1999:

The province was divided into thirteen regencies (kabupaten) and one administrative city (kota administratif). These are listed below along with their districts (kecamatan), per December 1981:^[17][18]

• Dili Administrative City, served as the capital of East Timor, also the capital and part of Dili Regency, consisted of East Dili (Dili Timur) and West Dili (Dili Barat) districts, which formerly belonged to Dili Regency before the creation of the administrative city status in November 1981.
• Dili Regency, consisted of Dili Administrative City, Atauro and Metinaro districts.
• Baucau Regency, with its capital at Baucau, consisted of Baucau, Vemasse, Laga, Baguia, Venilale, and Quelicai districts.
• Manatuto Regency, with its capital at Manatuto, consisted of Manatuto, Laclubar, Barique, Laclo, and Laleia districts.
• Lautem Regency, with its capital at Lospalos, consisted of Lospalos, Luro, Iliomar, Lautem, and Tutuala districts.
• Viqueque Regency, with its capital at Viqueque, consisted of Viqueque, Ossu, Uato-Lari, Lacluta, and Uato-Carbau districts.
• Ainaro Regency, with its capital at Ainaro, consisted of Ainaro, Maubisse, Hatu-Bullico, Hato-Hudo, and Mape districts.
• Manufahi Regency, with its capital at Same, consisted of Same, Alas, Fato-Berliu, and Turiscai districts.
• Kova-Lima Regency, with its capital at Suai, consisted of Suai, Tilomar, Fohorem, Fatu-Lulic, and Fatu-Mean districts.
• Ambeno Regency, with its capital at Pante-Makassar, consisted of Pante-Makassar, Oe-Silo, Nitibe, and Passabe districts.
• Bobonaro Regency, with its capital at Maliana, consisted of Maliana, Bobonaro, Lolotoi, Atabai, Balibo, and Cailaco districts.
• Liquica Regency, with its capital at Liquica, consisted of Liquica, Bazar-Tete, and Maubara districts.
• Ermera Regency, with its capital at Gleno, consisted of Ermera, Atsabe, Hatolia, Lete-Foho, and Railaco districts.
• Aileu Regency, with its capital at Aileu, consisted of Aileu, Remexio, Laulara, and Lequidoe districts.

• Indonesian occupation of East Timor
• 1999 East Timorese crisis
• East Timor–Indonesia relations

• Report of CAVR — Chega!
• ETAN.org: East Timor Action Network
  • ETAN.org: Articles and reports − 1991 to 1996

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