East Nusa Tenggara (
Indonesian Nusa Tenggara Timur) is a
province of
Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the
Lesser Sunda Islands, including
West Timor. The provincial capital is
Kupang, located on West Timor.
The province consists of about 550 islands, but is dominated by the three main islands of Flores, Sumba, and West Timor, the western half of the island of Timor. The eastern part of Timor is the independent country of East Timor. Other islands include Adonara, Alor, Ende, Komodo, Lembata, Menipo, Raijua, Rincah, Rote Island (the southernmost island in Indonesia), Savu, Semau, and Solor.
After the declaration of Indonesia independence in 1945, the eastern part of Indonesia declared themselves as the State of East Indonesia by the statute of Staatsblad No. 143, 1946. The state was further included in the United States of Indonesia as one of the agreement of the Dutch to transfer its sovereignty to Indonesia in 1949.
In 1950, United States of Indonesia dissolved itself into a unitary state and began to divide its region into provinces. In 1958, by the Indonesian statute of law (Undang-Undang) No. 64/1958, three provinces were established in the Lesser Sunda Islands, namely Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara provinces.[3] According to the law, East Nusa Tenggara province includes the western part of Timor island, Flores, Sumba and other several small islands in the region. The province was further divided into twelve regencies.[4]
