The Socialist Party of Timor was founded in February 1997, whilst East Timor was still under Indonesian occupation (though it claims it was founded earlier on 20 December 1990). It is a splinter party of the Fretilin and was established by Avelino Maria da Silva Coelho, Pedro Martires da Costa and Antonio Maher Lopes. Labour and student groups based in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta and other Indonesian cities where East Timorese studied and worked formed the basis of PST's members. The party's first national congress was held from 10–11 February 2000 in Dili, the capital of East Timor.