Since the Portuguese administration had withdrawn and Indonesia began to occupy the border area of East Timor, the Fretilin unilaterally proclaimed independence on 28 November 1975.

Only after 24 years of guerrilla war, a referendum held under the supervision of the United Nations, in which the majority of the population spoke out against autonomy within Indonesia and in favour of East Timor's independence.

The preamble looks back on the history of the "Maubere homeland" and names the creation and adoption of the constitution as the culmination of the "historic resistance of the Timorese people" after the invasion of December 7, 1975.

The role of Fretilin is mentioned in the preamble, National Council of Maubere Resistance (CNRT) and Timor Leste Defence Force (FALINTIL) in the liberation struggle and its thousands of victims, but also the diplomatic front where East Timorese campaigned for the independence of their country with the international community, and the Catholic Church.

[2] After which, the Constitution consists of seven parts, namely:[2] Attendance by members of the Government Annemarie Devereux: Timor-Leste's Bill of Rights – A Preliminary History, Australian National University, 2015.