Nicolau Lobato

Nicolau Lobato
Lobato in 1975
1st Prime Minister of East Timor
In office
28 November 1975 – 7 December 1975
PresidentFrancisco Xavier do Amaral
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMari Alkatiri (2002)
Personal details
Born(1946-05-24)24 May 1946
Soibada, Portuguese Timor
Died31 December 1978(1978-12-31) (aged 32)
Mount Mindelo, East Timor, Indonesia
Cause of deathKilled in action
PartyFretilin
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1972; died 1975)​
Children1
Parent(s)Narciso Lobato (father)
Felismina Alves (mother)
RelativesRogério Lobato (brother)
Military service
Allegiance Timor-Leste
Years of service
1975–1978
Commands Falintil
Battles/warsIndonesian occupation of East Timor †

Nicolau dos Reis Lobato (24 May 1946 – 31 December 1978) was an East Timorese politician who is considered a national hero of the country.

He was the first Prime Minister of East Timor and vice president of Fretilin. In 1978, he was killed by the Indonesian Kopassus during the country's invasion of East Timor.

Biography

Lobato was born in Soibada, Portuguese Timor, on 24 May 1946.

Lobato was the first prime minister of the Democratic Republic of East Timor from 28 November to 7 December 1975. Upon the invasion by the Indonesian military, Lobato, along with other key Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) leaders, fled into the Timorese hinterland to fight against the occupying forces. On 31 December 1978, Lobato was ambushed at Mount Mindelo and fatally shot in the stomach by the Kopassus, an Indonesian special forces unit then led by Lieutenant Prabowo Subianto (later president of Indonesia).[1][2] His body was brought to Dili to be inspected by the Indonesian press. What then happened to his body is unknown; the East Timorese government continues to pursue the issue with the Indonesian government, so that his remains can be given a proper burial.[3]

East Timor's main airport was renamed Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in his honour.

References

  1. ↑ "Indonesia: Fretilin leader shot dead in East Timor (Kuala Lumpur BUSINESS TIMES in English 3 Jan 79 p 18)". Translations on South and East Asia. 802. Arlington, VA: U.S. Joint Publications Research Service: 17. 8 February 1979.
  2. ↑ "Body of Timor-Leste's first prime minister still missing after 41 years". Tempo Timor. 31 December 2019. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Barker, Anne (20 February 2018). "East Timor's latest attempt to solve the mystery of what happened to its first PM". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 23 March 2023.

Further reading

  • Nicol, Bill (2002). "Chapter Eleven: Strange Bedfellows". Timor: A Nation Reborn. Jakarta: Equinox Publishing. pp. 106–120. ISBN 979958986X.
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