East Timor independence in the context of "Unilateral declaration of independence"

East Timor (Indonesian: Timor Timur) was a province of Indonesia between 1976 and 1999, during the Indonesian occupation of the country. Its territory corresponded to the previous Portuguese Timor and to the present-day independent country of Timor-Leste.

From 1702 to 1975, East Timor was an overseas territory of Portugal, called "Portuguese Timor". In 1974, Portugal initiated a gradual decolonisation process of its remaining overseas territories, including Portuguese Timor. During the process, a civil conflict between the different Timorese parties erupted. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1975 and formally annexed the territory in 1976, declaring it Indonesia's 27th province and renaming it "Timor Timur". The United Nations, however, declared this occupation illegal, continuing to consider Portugal as the legitimate administering power of East Timor. East Timor voted for independence in UN-sponsored referendum in August 1999. Following the end of Indonesian occupation in October 1999, as well as a United Nations administered transition period, East Timor became formally independent in May 2002 and adopted the official name of Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste became a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations on 26 October 2025 during the 47th ASEAN Summit, finishing a two-decade accession process.

The island nation was recognised as an observer to ASEAN soon after it gained independence in May 2002. By 2007, all of its political parties supported closer ties with the organisation, and leaders declared a "strategic decision" to seek membership. The country applied for membership in 2011, and ASEAN agreed in principle to admit the country and make it a formal observer in 2022.

The Democratic Republic of East Timor (Portuguese: República Democrática de Timor-Leste, Tetum: Repúblika Demokrátika de Timór-Lorosa'e), or simply East Timor or Timor-Leste (Portuguese: Timor-Leste, Tetum: Timór-Lorosa'e) was a state that was unilaterally proclaimed on the territory of present-day Timor-Leste on 28 November 1975 by Fretilin prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor nine days later on 7 December 1975.

Its sovereignty was recognised by a small number of states, before it was invaded and subsequently annexed by Indonesia on 17 July 1976. Following continued resistance and growing international pressure, Timor-Leste became independent on 20 May 2002.

An independence referendum was held in Indonesian-occupied East Timor on 30 August 1999, organised by United Nations Mission in East Timor. The referendum's origins lay with the request made by the President of Indonesia, B. J. Habibie, to the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on 27 January 1999, for the United Nations to hold a referendum, whereby East Timor would be given choice of either greater autonomy within Indonesia or independence.

Voters rejected the proposed special autonomy, leading to their separation from Indonesia. This led to mass violence and the destruction of infrastructure in East Timor, before the UN Security Council ratified the resolution on 15 September for the formation of a multinational force (INTERFET) to be immediately sent to East Timor to restore order and security and end the humanitarian crisis. East Timor would officially achieve recognised independence on 20 May 2002.

Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie (Indonesian: [bahaˌrudin ˌjusuf haˈbibi] ; 25 June 1936 – 11 September 2019) was an Indonesian politician, engineer and scientist who served as the third president of Indonesia from 1998 to 1999. A little over two months after his inauguration as the seventh vice president in March 1998, he succeeded Suharto, who resigned after 32 years in office, thereby being the country's first vice president to assume the presidency intra-term. Originating from Sulawesi with Bugis-Gorontalese and Javanese ancestry, his presidency was seen as a landmark and transition to the Reform era.

Upon becoming president, he liberalized Indonesia's press and political party laws; ended Indonesian occupation of East Timor, which led to that country's independence; and held an early democratic election three years sooner than scheduled, which resulted in the end of his presidency. His 517-day presidency and 71-day vice-presidency were each the shortest in Indonesian history. Before entering government, Habibie contributed to the making of Indonesia's first domestic airplane, the IPTN N-250. As a result, he was granted the title "Father of Technology".