DILI, 13 may 2024 (TATOLI) – The National Parliament (PN) today unanimously approved a vote of regret on the death of Helen Mary Hill.
House Speaker, Maria Fernanda Lay, said that the approval of the vote is to express the deepest condolences to the bereaved family and the Australian people.
MP Ângela Maria, said that it’s important to recognize and, above all, thank Helen Mary Hill for her contribution and dedication to Timor-Leste’s independence.
She said that Helen Hill also played an important role in the development of the country’s education sector.
Helen Hill first visited the country in February 1975 as a student on a masters’s program in Politics at Monash University in Australia. After the Indonesian invasion, she was part of a group of Australian students who helped José Ramos Horta establish the office of the Timor-Leste at the United Nations, in New York.
Hill remained one of the relatively few Australian academic voices to speak consistently and openly in support of the East Timorese right to self-determination through the 1970s and 1980s.
She has lived mostly in Timor-Leste since retiring in 2012. She was the president of the Australia East Timor Association from 1999 to 2014. She has done several consultancies for the National University of Timor-Lorosa’e, the Ministry of Education, the Human Capital Development Fund, and the United Nations Development Program.
She was awarded the Order of Timor-Leste by the President of the Republic, Taur Matan Ruak, in 2014, in recognition of her contribution to the country.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
