Daily Times

East Timor’s first democratically elected head of state, Xanana Gusmao, returned to power on Saturday, eight years after he resigned as prime minister of Southeast Asia’s youngest democracy. The 77-year-old independence icon was credited with unifying the country during his first two stints in office, after the bloody guerilla fight against Indonesian occupation. Gusmao’s party, the opposition National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT), won May’s election in a landslide, defeating the incumbent coalition led by resistance movement turned political party Fretilin. Gusmao was chosen as premier again after CNRT allied with the Democratic Party to gain a majority in parliament.

The son of teachers of Portuguese-Timorese descent, Gusmao grew up in what was then a Portuguese colony. He joined the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) in 1975, fighting for independence first from Portugal and then Indonesia. Born Jose Alexandre Gusmao, he adopted the code name Xanana, reportedly in connection with a popular doo-wop song.

He quickly rose through the ranks of the resistance and became leader of Fretilin’s military wing, Falintil, in 1981, spending much of his life in the jungle with fellow fighters. When he was captured by Indonesian forces in 1992, he continued to lead the struggle from jail in Jakarta. During his time in prison, he met his second wife through a correspondence. Australian aid worker Kirsty Sword was initially teaching Gusmao English via letters, but she snuck into the prison to meet him face to face. Gusmao earned the moniker “poet warrior” during this stint behind bars when he was known to paint and write poetry.