Asia Honorary Advisers
Adaljiza Magno
Asia Honorary Adviser, Timor Leste
From 2020-2023, Adaljiza Magno served as Timor Leste's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and had previously served as Timor Leste's ambassador to Singapore and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, known as Adaljiza Magno, was born in January 7, 1975 and spent her early childhood with her parents on Timor-Leste's Matebian Mountain, where her parents were involved in the struggle for independence.
In 2001 at the age of 25, she was elected as a member of Constituent Assembly in Timor-Leste and four years later she was appointed as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.
Ms Magno is deeply concerned about the importance of good governance for a new democratic society like Timor-Leste.
In addition to her political role, Ms Magno has worked in the areas of human rights, democracy, women’s leadership and good governance.
In 2013, she successfully concluded her Master’s Degree in Public Management from Victoria University of Wellington.
In January 2016, Ms Magno was appointed as an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Singapore, and in October 2017 she was re-appointed to Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cooperation of the Seventh Constitutional Government.
She has worked closely with the New Zealand Embassy on WTO accession and women in leadership issues. Adaljiza Magno’s mother tongue is Tetum, while she is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia, English and fair in Portuguese.
In June 2020, Ms Magno was appointed Timor Leste's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation.