He was born in an aristocratic family in
Iliomar II at
Lautem, and is the eldest of six siblings. He entered the military academy in 1965, and graduated in 1969. He also studied agriculture with the help of the
Salesians of Don Bosco in 1969–1973, and served the
Portuguese Army in 1974, before returning to East Timor in 1975. He held various positions in the
Falintil under the
Fretilin, such as the political assistant for the Fretilin, and served during
Indonesian invasion of East Timor. He served as commander of the Region 4 in 1984, became commander of the Centro Leste sector in 1987 and became commander of the Ponta Leste sector in 1993. He then serves as the Chief of Staff of the F-FDTL, and was promoted to Colonel by
Taur Matan Ruak. He became Deputy Commander of the Timor-Leste Defence Force in 2009, and was promoted to Brigadier General, until he was appointed as the Commander of the
Timor Leste Defence Force on 6 October 2011. His term was extended for three times since 2015. ==Awards in military service==