Fidelis Leite Magalhães

Fidelis Leite Magalhães is a DPhil (PhD) candidate in Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, where he conducts research under the supervision of Professor Nicole Stremlau. His research examines the relationships between social media, digital technology, collective memory, and transitional justice, with a particular focus on post-conflict societies.

Fidelis holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, where he was a Harvard Kennedy School Dean’s Fellow. He also earned a Master of Science in Political Economy of Late Development from the London School of Economics (jointly administered by the Department of Economic History and the Department of International Development), and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with distinction from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. In addition, he completed MPhil coursework in International Relations at ISCSP-University of Lisbon. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy and Management from Harvard University and an undergraduate certificate in Latin American and Iberian Languages and Literature.

Throughout his academic and professional career, Fidelis has received several prestigious awards and fellowships, including the United States Department of State Scholarship, the Chevening Award, the Calouste Gulbenkian Fellowship, participation in the European Union Visitors’ Program for Young Leaders, and the Edmund J. Curley Scholarship Fund.

Beyond academia, Fidelis has more than fifteen years of experience in public policy, governance, and government leadership in Timor-Leste. He has held several senior ministerial positions, including Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and Minister for Legal Reforms and Parliamentary Affairs. He also served as Chairperson of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development from 2018 to 2020.

Prior to assuming executive office, Fidelis served as a member of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, where he led his party’s parliamentary group and chaired the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, defense, and security. He also served as Chief of Staff to the President of Timor-Leste and chaired the High-Level National Consensus Dialogue on Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation.

In recognition of his contributions to public service and national development, Fidelis was awarded the Order of Timor-Leste in 2017.