Zacarias da Costa

Who is Zacarias da Costa?

Zacarias Albano da Costa is an East Timorese politician and diplomat. On 8 August 2007, he became Minister of Foreign Affairs following the 2007 parliamentary election. Before being appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Minister da Costa was a Member of Parliament and Leader of the Social Democratic Party Bench at the Parliament. In addition to his ministerial role, he is currently Chairman of the National Council of the PSD.

Professionally, Minister da Costa has worked with the Asian Development Bank for four years as Inter-Agency Coordinator and Project Administration and Implementation Specialist. He was also a USAID Advisor on Private Sector Development Project and Head of Information Coordination and Monitoring Unit.

Prior to the Independence of Timor-Leste, the Minister was a key figure in the CNRT Political Committee and the Coordinating Committee for the Diplomatic Front as the Permanent Representative to the European Union and International Organizations in Geneva covering the period 1985–2000. Another key function of the Minister was the coordination of the Secretariat of the Inter Parliamentary-Group of the European Parliament for Timor-Leste.