Former East Timor president and independence fighter Jose Maria de Vasconcelos will be sworn in as prime minister on Friday, ending months of political deadlock in the tiny Southeast Asian nation. “I have issued a decree on the nomination of Mr Taur Matan Ruak as prime minister,” President Francisco Guteres told a news conference on Wednesday, referring to Vasconcelos by a name popularly used for him. Vasconcelos is part of an opposition coalition, the Alliance of Change for Progress (AMP), that won a majority of the seats in parliament in an election in May. Published in Daily Times, June 21st 2018.