As he passes through East Timor in early March, the Taoiseach can expect to encounter a bit of lobbying. The Nobel laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta, a prominent leader of the resistance movement (CNRT), has been telling people that he would love if David Andrews became the first Irish ambassador to an independent East Timor, now that he is a free agent, so to speak. Whether new backbencher Andrews would love it is another matter, although he has a great interest in the area. While in Ireland, only professional diplomats become ambassadors, it is being said that the Department of Foreign Affairs secretary general, Padraig McKernan might make an exception in this case!
Andrews visited East Timor last April, saw the violence at first hand and met Xanana Gusmao twice in prison in Jakarta. Apart from the ambassadorial suggestion, there is a well-running campaign to name a prominent street after our former minister.
Nothing is agreed on either an ambassador or a street, but the Taoiseach is expected to announce the opening of an Irish office in Dili when he goes there. There is a scramble among other countries for the best seaside locations for their missions. The Irish Government will find that the person responsible for allocating said villas is the UN-appointed "governor" (administrator) of Dili, John Ryan from Rathgar.