João Viegas Carrascalão

João Viegas Carrascalão ( born August 11, 1945 in Liquiçá, Portuguese Timor, † February 18, 2012 in Dili, East Timor ) was an East Timorese politician and chairman of the União Democrática Timorense (UDT, Democratic Union of Timor ). In addition, he was until 2010 Chairman of the National Olympic Committee of Timor-Leste.

Life

He was born in 1945 as the ninth of 14 children of a Portuguese exiles and locals on their Fazenda Algarve at Liquiçá. In 1962 he graduated from the High School at the High School Dr. Francisco Machado in Dili. While his older brothers were studying in Portugal, this was not enough money for a study for him. After school in Dili, he was a sailor, made but a short time later in the Portuguese colony of Angola a course as a surveyor. His training NCO in the Portuguese army joined João Carrascalão as the second best, behind which later Nicolau Lobato resistance fighters. Finally, he studied in St. Gallen in Switzerland Photogrammetry and Cartography. Back in Portuguese Timor headed Carrascalão the Departamento de Geografia.

With the Carnation Revolution in Portugal in 1975 announced for East Timor 's independence. With his brothers Manuel and Mário Carrascalão returned to East Timor and established with them both the UDT, the first political party in East Timor. The party advocated close ties with the former colonial power Portugal, or as they said in Tetum: "mate bandera hum" - in the shade of the Portuguese flag. João Carrascalão advocated even then East Timor's independence. Finally, the UDT supported a gradual introduction to independence. On August 11, 1975, the UDT attempted a coup to come to power, but the FRETILIN was able to prevail in the street fighting in Dili, where also Carrascalão mitkämpfte. But only a few days after the declaration of independence by the FRETILIN occupied Indonesia at the end of the country.

Carrascalão went with his wife and two young children only to Portugal, then to Australia into exile and was reflected first by having unskilled jobs. At the University of New South Wales, he received an engineering degree in Geometrik. Later he got a job as a cartographer, while political activists worldwide against the Indonesian occupation, among other things, supported by his brother Mário, keeping him out of East Timor with information. So João Carrascalão was also part of the East Timorese delegation was allowed to audition in front of the UN Committee on Decolonization, on 12 August 1988.

In August 1999, the East Timorese were finally able to vote on their independence and decided by a large majority. Carrascalão gave his voice still in Australia from and returned a few weeks later back to Dili. Militias and Indonesian forces had destroyed a large part of the country before a UN intervention force took power. Carrascalão was established by the UN administration as Minister of Infrastructure and coordinated the beginning of the reconstruction of East Timor. On 16 July 2001 he resigned in order to run the UDT in the upcoming parliamentary elections. New Minister for Infrastructure was Ovídio Amaral.

Carrascalão was chairman of the UDT. For the 2007 presidential election, he stood as a candidate, but resigned after the first round on April 9, 1.72 % off the lowest share of the vote. In the parliamentary elections on 30 June 2007 Carrascalão was number one on the party list, but the UDT failed because of the new three- percent threshold.

In 2009 he was appointed to South Korea by President José Ramos -Horta for the first Ambassador of East Timor. He held this office until his death. On Saturday, February 18, 2012 João Carrascalão died at 1:40 clock in the morning suddenly of a heart attack. He had heart problems and diabetes.

Carrascalão was married to Rosa Maria, the sister of President José Ramos- Horta. The couple had a daughter, a son and six grandchildren.