José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ ɐlɨˈʃɐ̃dɾɨ ʃɐˈnanɐ ɣuʒˈmɐ̃w]; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the tenth prime minister of Timor-Leste since 2023, previously serving as the sixth prime minister from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as East Timor's first president since its re-establishment of independence from 2002 to 2007.
Gusmão was born in Laleia, Manatuto, in what was then Portuguese Timor, as the second son in a large family. His parents, both of whom were school teachers, were of mixed Portuguese-Timorese ancestry, and his family were assimilados. He attended a Jesuit school in Dare, just outside Dili, and Dili High School. After leaving high-school for financial reasons at the age of 15 in 1961, he held a variety of unskilled jobs, while continuing his education at night school.
In 1965, aged 19, Gusmão met Emilia Batista, who was later to become his wife. His nickname, "Xanana", was taken from the name of the American rock and roll band Sha Na Na (pronounced the same as "Xanana", which is spelled according to Portuguese and Tetum spelling rules), who in turn were named after a lyric from the doo-wop song "Get a Job" written and recorded in 1957 by the Silhouettes.
In 1966, Gusmão obtained a position with the public service, which allowed him to continue his education. This was interrupted in 1968 when Gusmão was recruited by the Portuguese Army for national service. He served for three years, rising to the rank of corporal. During this time, he married Emilia Batista, with whom he had a son Eugenio, and a daughter Zenilda. He has since divorced Emilia, and in 2000, he married Australian Kirsty Sword, with whom he had three sons: Alexandre, Kay Olok and Daniel. In 1971, Gusmão completed his national service, his son was born, and he became involved with a nationalist organisation headed by José Ramos-Horta. For the next three years he was actively involved in peaceful protests directed at the colonial system.
The 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal resulted in the beginning of decolonisation for Portuguese Timor, and shortly afterwards the Governor Mário Lemos Pires announced plans to grant the colony independence. Plans were drawn up to hold general elections with a view to independence in 1978. During most of 1975 a bitter internal struggle occurred between two rival factions in Portuguese Timor. Gusmão became deeply involved with the Fretilin faction, and as a result he was arrested and imprisoned by the rival faction the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) in mid-1975. Taking advantage of the internal disorder, and with an eye to absorbing the colony, Indonesia immediately began a campaign of destabilisation, and frequent raids into Portuguese Timor were staged from Indonesian West Timor. By late 1975 the Fretilin faction had gained control of Portuguese Timor and Gusmão was released from prison. He was given the position of Press Secretary within the Fretilin organisation. On 28 November 1975, Fretilin declared the independence of Portuguese Timor as "The Democratic Republic of East Timor", and Gusmão was responsible for filming the ceremony. Nine days later, Indonesia invaded East Timor. At the time Gusmão was visiting friends outside of Dili and he witnessed the invasion from the hills. For the next few days he searched for his family.
After the appointment of the Provisional Government of East Timor by Indonesia, Gusmão became heavily involved in resistance activities. Gusmão was largely responsible for the level of organisation that evolved in the resistance, which ultimately led to its success. The early days featured Gusmão walking from village to village to obtain support and recruits. In 1977, Gusmão was the aide-de-camp to Fretilin political commissar Abel Larisina and organised supplies for civilians at the resistance base at Matebian. In November 1978, the base was destroyed by the Indonesians. But after Fretilin suffered some major setbacks in the early 1980s, including a failed 1984 coup attempt against Gusmão led by four senior Falintil officers, including Mauk Moruk, Gusmão left Fretilin and supported various centrist coalitions, eventually becoming a leading opponent of Fretilin. In March 1981, a secret national conference in Lacluta elected him head of Falintil, succeeding the slain Nicolau dos Reis Lobatos.
In 1988, Gusmão became leader of the newly formed National Council of Resistance (CNRT). To avoid being seen as partisan, Gusmão left Fretilin for this. Under his leadership, FALINTIL relied more on clandestine underground networks and used small groups to attack Indonesian targets. By the mid-1980s, he was a major leader. During the early 1990s, Gusmão became deeply involved in diplomacy and media management, and was instrumental in alerting the world to the massacre in Dili that occurred in Santa Cruz on 12 November 1991. Gusmão was interviewed by many major media channels and obtained worldwide attention.
As a result of his high profile, Gusmão became a prime target of the Indonesian government. Indonesian troops (TNI) attempted to capture Gusmão in the Same and Ainaro area on 14 November 1990 with Operasi Senyum ("Operation Smile"). Four days earlier, a woman had been captured who testified during interrogation that the rebel leader was staying at a nearby mountain. Xanana Gusmão, however, probably escaped one night before the attack. After the attack, in which twelve battalions and four helicopters were deployed, the military claimed to have found about 100 fighters. Also found was a container with Gusmão's documents, a video camera and his typewriter. Among the documents were letters from the Pope and Bishop Carlos Belo. According to a traditional Timorese legend, some warriors were able to transform themselves into dogs to escape their captors. Picking up on this myth, the legend spread that Gusmão could also turn into a white dog and thus run around the village unnoticed while the Indonesian soldiers were looking for him.
In November 1992, a campaign for his capture was finally successful in a large-scale operation by the Indonesian military with Gusmão apprehended in a tunnel under the family home of Aliança Araújo in Lahane near Dili and taken to Bali. In May 1993, Gusmão was tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Indonesian government. He was found guilty under Article 108 of the Indonesian Penal Code (rebellion), Law no. 12 of 1951 (illegal possession of firearms) and Article 106 (attempting to separate part of the territory of Indonesia). He spoke in his own defence and he was appointed with defence lawyers before the commencement of his trial. The sentence was commuted to 20 years by the Indonesian President Suharto in August 1993. He was taken to Jakarta's maximum security prison, Cipinang. Although not released until late 1999, Gusmão successfully led the resistance from within prison with the help of Kirsty Sword. Prior to his release, the United Kingdom offered Gusmão political asylum to ensure his safety. The Xanana Room at the British Embassy in Jakarta commemorates this today. By the time of his release, he was regularly visited by United Nations representatives, and dignitaries such as Nelson Mandela.
On 30 August 1999, a referendum was held in East Timor and an overwhelming majority voted for independence. The Indonesian military commenced a campaign of terror as a result, with terrible consequences. Although the Indonesian government denied ordering this offensive, they were widely condemned for failing to prevent it. As a result of overwhelming diplomatic pressure from the United Nations, promoted by Portugal since the late 1970s and also by the United States and Australia in the 1990s, a UN-sanctioned, Australian-led international peace-keeping force (INTERFET) entered East Timor.
Gusmão was secretly flown into East Timor by INTERFET on Thursday, 21 October 1999, flying from Darwin, Australia, to Baucau, before moving onwards to Dili. His presence in Dili was revealed by loudspeaker trucks announcing he would make a speech. This 25-minute speech urged reconciliation and rebuilding. At this time, Gusmão was 53, and was already expected to become the first President, despite some criticism over his lack of action against the post-referendum terror campaign.