Government
Type: Parliamentary Democracy.
Independence (from Portugal): November 28, 1975.
Restoration of Independence: May 20, 2002. (See History section.)
Constitution: March 2002.
Branches: Executive--president (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--unicameral parliament. Judicial--Supreme Court and supporting hierarchy.
Major political parties: Revolutionary Front of Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), Democratic Party (PD), Social Democratic Party (PSD), Timorese Social Democratic Association (ASDT).

East Timor Government
East Timor became a fully independent republic on May 20, 2002, following approximately 2-1/2 years under the authority of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The country has a parliamentary form of government with its first parliament formed from the 88-member Constituent Assembly chosen in free and fair, UN-supervised elections in August 2001. The 29-member Cabinet is dominated by the FRETILIN Party, which won the majority of Assembly seats. Mari Alkatiri, FRETILIN's Secretary General, is Prime Minister and Head of Government and Xanana Gusmao, elected in free and fair elections on April 14, 2002 is President and Head of State. UNTAET's mandate ended with independence, but a successor organization, the UN Mission for the Support of East Timor (UNMISET), was established. Under the Constitution ratified in March 2002, "laws and regulations in force continue to be applicable to all matters except to the extent that they are inconsistent with the Constitution;" and Indonesian and UNTAET laws and regulations continue to be in effect. At the time of writing, the government was expected to announce shortly the holding of local elections in early 2004.

UNMISET maintains responsibility and command of the UN Peace Keeping Force (UN-PKF) and the UN Police Forces (UNPOL), which are handing over executive authority on a province-by-province basis to the FALINTIL-East Timor Defense Force (F-FTDL) and East Timor Police Service, respectively. UNMISET's mandate is scheduled to be phased out completely by June 2004; however, the Timorese and international community are currently discussing the possibility of maintaining a small UN force in the country for one additional year.
source: http://www.state.gov