Pátria

Pátria

"Pátria" ("Fatherland" in Portuguese) is the national anthem of the Democratic Republic of East Timor. It was first used on November 28, 1975, when East Timor unilaterally declared independence from Portugal, shortly before the Indonesian invasion on December 7.

Following Indonesia's withdrawal and the transition to independence under UN administration, it was adopted as the national anthem on independence on May 20, 2002.

The music was composed by Afonso de Araujo, and the words were written by the poet Francisco Borja da Costa, who was killed on the day of the invasion. It is only sung in Portuguese, there is as yet no version in Tetum, the country's national and co-official language.