Lúcia Maria Brandão Freitas Lobato (born 7 November 1965National Parliament page on Lobato (Portuguese).) is an East Timorese politician and former Minister of Justice."Xanana Gusmão tomou posse em Timor-Leste" , LUSA (rtp.pt), August 8, 2007 (in Portuguese). She is a member of the National Parliament, representing the Social Democratic Party.
Lobato was born in Liquiçá, and is a lawyer.
She was elected to the Constituent Assembly (which was subsequently transformed into the National Parliament upon independence in 2002) in the August 2001 parliamentary election, taking her seat on September 15, 2001.
Lobato was a candidate in the April 2007 presidential election, and the only female candidate."Timorese prepare to elect new president", Australian Associated Press (The Sydney Morning Herald), 10 March 2007.Results of 2007 presidential election , East Timor Election Commission website. She received fifth place and 8.86% of the vote.
In the June 2007 parliamentary election, Lobato was re-elected to Parliament as the third name on the joint candidate list of the PSD and the Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT)."National Provisional Results from the 30 June 2007 Parliamentary Elections", Comissão Nacional de Eleições Timor-Leste, July 9, 2007. In the IV Constitutional Government of East Timor of Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, sworn in on August 8, 2007, she was appointed Minister of Justice. In 2012, Lobato was convicted of corruption and abuse of power.Paul, C., Clarke, C. P., Grill, B., & Dunigan, M. (2013). Indonesia (East Timor), 1975–2000: Case Outcome: COIN Loss. In Paths to Victory: Detailed Insurgency Case Studies (pp. 374–382). RAND Corporation. p. 374-382. She was found guilty of misappropriation of funds intended for prison construction projects as well as the manipulation of legal tender. The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals but the appeal against her conviction was dismissed. She was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, which she started serving in January 2013. She is incarcerated in Gleno Prison.
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