Government and power in Timor-Leste

Who leads Timor-Leste, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary semi-presidential republic.

Who leads Timor-Leste?

• Head of state: José Ramos-Horta (President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste)
• Head of government: Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão (Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste)
• Foreign minister: Bendito dos Santos Freitas (Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Timor-Leste

Government

• Government of Timor-Leste
  Council of Ministers decisions, government press releases and ministry information.

Parliament

• National Parliament
  Laws, resolutions, plenary records and members of the National Parliament.

Elections

• National Election Commission
  Election results, candidate lists and supervision reports.

Courts

• Courts of Timor-Leste (Court of Appeal)
  Court of Appeal decisions, court information and historical legislation.

Public contracts

• Timor-Leste e-Procurement Portal
  Tender notices, bidding documents and contract awards for Timor-Leste government procurement.

Laws and the official gazette

• Jornal da República (Ministry of Justice)
  The official gazette of Timor-Leste, with laws, decree-laws and government resolutions since 2002.

Government below the national level

• Municipalities (12), the Special Administrative Region of Oe-Cusse Ambeno, and Ataúro (separated from Díli in 2022): Municipal administrators appointed by the government; Oe-Cusse has an appointed Authority
• Administrative posts (postos administrativos): Administrators appointed by the government
• Sucos (over 400) and aldeias (hamlets): Chefe de suco and chefe de aldeia elected by residents through aldeia assemblies for seven-year terms; a second round is held if no candidate wins over half the votes

How local power works in Timor-Leste

Places in Timor-Leste

• All 15 capital municipalities
• Official statistics for Timor-Leste

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.