JOS FERNANDES TEIXEIRA SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TOURISM, ENVIRONMENT AND INVESTMENT
OFFICE OF THE HON. JOS FERNANDES TEIXEIRA
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TOURISM, ENVIRONMENT AND INVESTMENT
FIRST CONSITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT OF THE R.D.T.L.
Press Release
Jos Fernandes Teixeira (also known to many as "Joe" Teixeira), was sworn in on the 20th of May 2002 by the President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, His Excellency, Xanana Gusmao, as a member of the first Constitutional Government.
Mr Teixeira will hold the portfolios of Tourism, Environment and Investment. Prior to being sworn into his new post he had been employed by the United Nations Transitional Administration as Head of the Trade, Tourism and Investment Divisions of the Department of Economic Affairs and Development.
Mr Teixeira is an alumnus of the University of New England (and Earle Page College) where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1986.
He is also an alumnus of the University of Queensland, St Lucia where he attained a Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to practice as a solicitor in Queensland and of the High Court of Australia in 1991, where he practiced in a wide range of mainly commercial and administrative law until he returned to his country of birth East Timor to take part in its institutional and governance reconstruction.
"I am grateful and privileged to have attended great educational institutions such as UNE and Earle Page College. Mottos such as "striving and serving" greatly motivated me to attain what I attained. These institutions and EPC in particular will always remain in my heart as places that built my personal confidence and a sense of personal worth. It all assisted me in reaching a sufficient standing and sense of service to return to my country of birth and be involved with such a historic and personally fulfilling endeavour. Its not everyday that you are given the opportunity to be intimately involved with the process of building a nation." says Mr Teixeira.
As for the challenges ahead of him, he says optimistically "I have no doubt that East Timor will do itself proud in the years to come by becoming an example of how post conflict nations can establish peace, democracy and economic development. We have been an example already. East Timor is today, a mere 2 and half years after breaking away from Indonesia, considerably ahead of countries which obtained their independence over 2 decades ago. Its good to have been a part of that and to look forward to an even brighter and more peaceful future."
On 20 May 2002, East Timor became the world�s newest country and the first country of the millennium, after over 400 years of Portuguese colonisation and 24 years of Indonesian occupation.
Dated: 26 June 2002
Dili, East Timor