Independence Restoration Day

East Timor's Restoration of Independence Day is a public holiday that is always observed on May 20th. It marks East Timor's National Day, commemorating Indonesia's surrender of power on May 20, 2002.

During the 16th century, Portugal invaded the eastern section of the island of Timor, which became known as Portuguese Timor. Portugal effectively abandoned its colony on Timor following the 1974 revolution in Portugal. This sparked a civil war in East Timor, and the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor declared independence in November 1975. Indonesia invaded East Timor nine days later, fearful of a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, with help from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The next year, East Timor was designated as Indonesia's 27th province. Indonesia surrendered the sovereignty of the area in 1999, following a United Nations-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal and a vote that showed an overwhelming majority in favor of independence. East Timor joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries on May 20, 2002, becoming the first new sovereign state of the twenty-first century.