On what date was the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste recognised as a sovereign, independent nation by the UN?

East Timor or East Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is a sovereign state in Maritime Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. Australia is the country's southern neighbor, separated by the Timor Sea. The country's size is about 15,410 km2 (5,400 sq mi).

Originally colonised by Portugal in the 16th century, this continued until 28th of November, 1975 when a resistance group known as 'Fretilin' declared the territory's independence.

A year later, Indonesia tried to annex it and make it part of Indonesia.

The Indonesian occupation of East Timor was characterised by a highly violent decades-long conflict between separatist groups (especially 'Fretilin') and the Indonesian military.

In 1999, following the United Nations-sponsored act of self-determination, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory.

East Timor became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century on 20 May 2002 and joined the United Nations and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.