UNITED NATIONS -- The tiny Southeast Asian nation of East Timor, the first country to be born in the 21st century, won a seat at the United Nations on Friday, swelling the world body's membership to 191.

The UN General Assembly welcomed East Timor -- which gained independence on May 20 after breaking away from Indonesia following a bloody conflict -- as its newest member by acclamation.

"We wish the Democratic Republic of Timor-leste (East Timor) and its people peace, prosperity and every success in their future, and I warmly welcome Timor-leste to the United Nations," General Assembly President Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic said after the vote.

The former Pacific territory joins the United Nations just weeks after Switzerland, which was approved on Sept. 10 after the Swiss people voted to seek membership in a March referendum.

Independence for East Timor capped nearly three years of UN administration, centuries of colonization by Portugal and 24 years of occupation by Indonesia.

East Timor came under UN rule a few months after its people voted overwhelmingly in an August 1999 independence referendum to break free from Indonesia, which seized the territory in 1975 after Portugal pulled out.

About 1,000 East Timorese died after the independence vote when gangs organized by the Indonesian military went on a rampage, looting, killing and burning down buildings.

Australia, with Indonesia's consent, then sent in troops to establish order until the United Nations could organize a peacekeeping force to take over.

"I have the great privilege of representing here today, before this distinguished General Assembly of the United Nations, a small people of great dignity and extraordinary bravery of the past, driven by total commitment to the present, and filled with great confidence in the future," East Timor President Xanana Gusmao told the world body.

Before independence, Gusmao spent 17 years as a resistance fighter against Indonesian rule and was jailed by Indonesia for seven years in the 1990s.

In a sign of their changing relationship, Gusmao noted that Indonesia had joined Australia in sponsoring East Timor's membership.

The half-island nation of 760,000 people is Asia's most impoverished, and the 20th poorest in the world.

Average life expectancy is 57 years, and East Timor's economy has been hard hit by a global coffee glut although the government hopes to spur development with the proceeds of offshore natural gas deposits.

The United Nations long struggled to help East Timor win independence, and the first official act of the new nation's 88-member Parliament after its election had been to sign the universal declaration of human rights and apply for a UN seat.

The UN Mission in East Timor is viewed as one of the world body's most successful peacekeeping operations.

While 5,000 UN troops, 850 police officers and 400 civilian staff remain in the country, officials say the mission is on track to wrap up its work and shut down in mid-2004 after gradually turning over its functions to East Timorese.

The country also has joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund and is working to delineate fully its border with Indonesia, with which it shares an island.

But it is lagging in setting up a justice system and naming civilian experts to government support posts, UN officials say.