José Luís Guterres became the first Ambassador of Timor-Leste to
the United States with concurrent accreditation as Permanent
Representative to the United Nations on May 8, 2003. Ambassador
Guterres previously served as the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs
and Cooperation for the government of Timor-Leste (2002-03). He was
a member of the National Council of Timorese Resistance and also of
the Central Committee at the FRETILIN Congress. Ambassador Guterres
has studied at the University of Cambridge, the University of the
Western Cape in South Africa, the Malaysia Institute of Diplomacy
and Foreign Relations and the Institute of Strategic and
International Studies in Portugal.