Xanana Gusmão held public office at a time when the terms of that office were themselves being contested.
The record lists Xanana Gusmão as Prime Minister and former President of East Timor.
Xanana Gusmão was born at Laleia in 1946. His recorded nationality is Portugal.
Twentieth-century politics was conducted under the shadow of two world wars, decolonisation and the Cold War, and broadcast to electorates that could watch it happen.
He served as Prime Minister of East Timor (2007–2015), President of East Timor (2002–2007) and Prime Minister of East Timor (from 2023).
His political affiliation is recorded as National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction and Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor.
Power is judged twice: once by contemporaries who felt it, and again by historians who did not.
Formal honours included the Sakharov Prize (1999), Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize (2001), North–South Prize (2002) and Gwangju Prize for Human Rights.
That the career was made in Portugal is not incidental: the institutions available, the franchise, and the constraints of the moment all shaped what could be attempted.
Xanana Gusmão's career is not finished, and the historical verdict on it has not been reached.
Achievements
- Prime Minister of East Timor (2007–2015)
- President of East Timor (2002–2007)
- Prime Minister of East Timor (from 2023)
- Sakharov Prize — 1999
- Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize — 2001
- North–South Prize — 2002
- Gwangju Prize for Human Rights
