Francisco Kalbuadi Lay

Francisco Kalbuadi Lay
Deputy Prime Minister of East Timor
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2023
Prime MinisterXanana Gusmão
Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2023
Prime MinisterXanana Gusmão
Preceded byJoaquim Amaral
Minister of Tourism and Environment
Incumbent
Assumed office
1 July 2023
Prime MinisterXanana Gusmão
Preceded by
Personal details
Born
Francisco Lay

(1954-02-07) February 7, 1954 (age 70)
Political partyNational Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT)
NicknameChico

Francisco Kalbuadi "Chico" Lay (né Francisco Lay; born 7 February 1954) is an East Timorese politician and a member of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT).

He is the more senior of East Timor's two incumbent Deputy Prime Ministers, and also the incumbent Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs and Minister of Tourism and Environment, serving since July 2023 in the IX Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.

Political career

Lay began his political career as a member of the Fretilin party. In 2001, he was elected as a Fretilin candidate to the Constituent Assembly of East Timor, from which the National Parliament emerged in 2002.[1][2][3] During that legislative term, he was President of the Economics and Finance Commission.[4]

By 2012, Lay had switched his allegiance to the CNRT; he served as President of the CNRT's political campaigns committee for that year's parliamentary election.[5]

On 8 August 2012, Lay was sworn in as the Minister of Tourism in the V Constitutional Government led by Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão.[6][7] When that Constitutional Government was replaced on 16 February 2015 by the VI Constitutional Government led by new Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araújo, Lay continued as a minister, under the new designation Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture.[8][9]

In 2017, Lay defeated the incumbent Secretary General of the CNRT, Dionísio Babo Soares, in an election for that post at the party congress.[10]

In that year's parliamentary election, Lay returned to the National Parliament at #5 on the CNRT list, but he resigned on 6 September 2017, the second day of the session.[11][12] With the CNRT going into opposition after the election, Lay also lost his ministerial post upon formation of the VI Constitutional Government on 15 September 2017. One of his replacements, Manuel Vong, was sworn in as Minister of Tourism; the other, Fernando Hanjam, became Minister of Education and Culture.[13][14]

In 2018, the National Parliament was dissolved early. In the elections that followed, Lay was again elected to the parliament, this time in 4th place on the list of the Alliance for Change and Progress (AMP), of which the CNRT was part.[15] During the formation of the VIII Constitutional Government, Lay was nominated for appointment as Minister for Trade, Industry, Environment and Tourism. However, President Francisco Guterres rejected that nomination because Lay had allegedly been involved in a corruption scandal.[16][17]

In the 2023 parliamentary election, Lay was the 2nd placed candidate on the CNRT list, and was elected once again to the National Parliament.[18] However, on 1 July 2023 he was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister, Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs, and Minister of Tourism and Environment in the IX Constitutional Government,[19][20][21] and he therefore gave up his parliamentary seat.[18]

Personal life

Lay is a member of East Timor's small ethnic Chinese community. His brother, Pedro Lay [de], was Minister of Infrastructure from 2007 to 2012, and Minister of Transport and Communications between 2012 and 2015.[6][7][22]

References

  1. ^ "LISTA ALFABÉTICA DOS DEPUTADOS". National Parliament of East Timor (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Deputados Legislatura 2002-2007". National Parliament of East Timor (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2 July 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  3. ^ Devereux, Annemarie (2015). Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights: A Preliminary History (PDF). Acton, ACT: ANU Press. p. 306. ISBN 9781925022391.
  4. ^ Paul Lynch, Member for Liverpool (3 July 2003). "East Timorese Community Events". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). New South Wales: Legislative Assembly. p. 2874. Archived from the original on 1 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Gusmao thanks participation of people in elections". Timor Newsline. 12 July 2012. Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Swearing in of the V Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b "V Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  8. ^ "VI Constitutional Government is sworn-in". Government of Timor-Leste. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  9. ^ "VI Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Xanana continua presidente do maior partido de Timor-Leste, Kalbuadi eleito secretário-geral" [Xanana remains president of East Timor's largest party, Kalbuadi elected secretary-general]. Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Lusa. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Who is in Timor-Leste's new Parliament? / Se tuir iha Parlamentu Nasionál foun?". La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  12. ^ Chatarina, Julia (6 September 2017). "Deputadu Nain Haat Hosi Bankada CNRT Substitui Kargu" [Four Members of Parliament from the CNRT List are Substituted in Office.] (in Tetum). Tatoli. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  13. ^ "VII Governo constitucional de Timor-Leste toma hoje posse incompleto" [VII Constitutional Government of Timor-Leste takes incomplete possession today]. Sapo.pt. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  14. ^ "VII Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Aviso: Lista Definitiva de Candidaturas Eleição Parlamentar 12 de Maio de 2018" [Notice: Final List of Candidates Parliamentary Election 12 May 2018] (PDF) (Press release) (in Portuguese). Democratic Republic of East Timor. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  16. ^ Sainsbury, Michael (22 June 2018). "Turmoil for new Timor-Leste PM as 11 ministerial nominations nixed". UCA News. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  17. ^ Belo, Jose (27 July 2018). "New Timor-Leste govt beset with problems as Gusmao walks away". La Croix international. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Who will be in the RDTL National Parliament from 2023-2028?" (PDF). La'o Hamutuk: Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  19. ^ Sousa, Nelson de (1 July 2023). "PR Horta sei akompaña serbisu IX Governu" [President Horta will accompany the work of the IX Government] (in Tetum). Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  20. ^ Martins, Filomeno (30 June 2023). "The list of structure of IX Constitutional Government announced in Official Gazette". Tatoli. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  21. ^ Martins, Filomeno (1 July 2023). "Xanana Gusmão sworn in as Timor-Leste's new Prime Minister". Tatoli. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  22. ^ Huber, Juliette (2021). "Chapter 2: At the Periphery of Nanyang: The Hakka Community of Timor-Leste". In Hoogervorst, Tom; Chia, Caroline (eds.). Sinophone Southeast Asia: Sinitic voices across the Southern Seas. Leiden, Boston: Brill. pp. 52–90. doi:10.1163/9789004473263_004. ISBN 9789004473263.

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