Manuel Cárceres da Costa

Manuel Cárceres da Costa is an East Timorese politician and writer. Between June 2018 and March 2022, he was the Minister of Justice, serving in the VIII Constitutional Government of East Timor led by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak.

Early life Costa is the son of two devoted Roman Catholic teachers who lived in , in the then District of Manatuto, where he was born. After attending primary school there, he received his secondary education at the Bishop of Medeiros College (Colegio de Bispo de Medeiros) in Dili.

In compliance with a decision of his deceased father, Costa then entered the Seminary of Our Lady of Fatima in Dili. Subsequently, after realising that he was unable to fulfil his parents' dream that he would become a priest, he left the seminary and enrolled at the Liceu Dr. Francisco Machado.

In 1999, Costa graduated with a degree in Public Administration.

In the 2001 parliamentary election, Costa stood as an independent candidate to become a direct representative for the then district of Manatuto. He received only 838 votes (5.4%).

From 2006 to 2010, Costa studied law, majoring in criminal law, at the Universidade da Paz (UNPAZ) in Dili. In February 2009, he became an advisor to Timor Telecom and, three months later, its director of Institutional Relations until 2018. However, at the end of February 2022, the Prime Minister gave him permission to take leave for health reasons. On 22 March 2022, he was replaced by Tiago Amaral Sarmento.

Publications In addition to his autobiographical book 26 anos, to testemunho (Dili: Livraria Central, 2010, 2nd edition 2013; ) on the East Timorese struggle for freedom, Costa has written various poems on the same topic. He speaks Tetum, Portuguese, Indonesian and English.