Milena Pires

Milena Pires is an East Timorese politician and women's rights activist who served as director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in East Timor. From 2016 to 2020, she was the Permanent Representative of East Timor to the United Nations.

Early life and education Pires was born on 19 June 1966 in Dili, Portuguese Timor. Her family went into exile in Australia when Pires was nine years old, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor. She studied sociology and English literature, receiving a Bachelor of Arts from the University of New England. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party. From 2001 to 2002 she was a member of the Constituent Assembly and helped to draft the Constitution of East Timor. From 2002 to 2007 she was director of the UNIFEM offices in East Timor. She was a founding member of the Centre for Women and Gender. In 2023, she was nominated as CEO of the East Timor Trading Group.

Personal life Pires is married to former Foreign Minister and CPLP Executive Secretary Zacarias da Costa and they have one son.

Publications Milena Pires, "Working Towards Women’s Rights in Timor-Leste: The Launch of “Women, War and Peace” and the Visit to the Village of Mauxiga", in Viva Timor-Leste! Volume II, Public Information Office of UNMISET, Dili, 2005, pp. 76–77.

Milena Pires, "East Timor and the Debate on Quotas" Presentation to Regional Workshop on the Implementation of Quotas, International IDEA, Jakarta, September 2002. Milena Pires, "An Overview of Women's Human Rights in East Timor pertaining to CEDAW", UNIFEM, East Timor, 2004