East Timor’s independence hero Gusmao returns to power as prime minister
- Former guerilla leader Xanana Gusmao was sworn into office by President Jose Ramos-Horta, his fellow independence fighter during Indonesia’s occupation
- Indonesian envoy, Coordinating Minister of Maritime and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, was among those who attended the inauguration
Former East Timor independence fighter Xanana Gusmao was sworn in on Saturday as prime minister of Asia’s youngest country after his party won the parliamentary election in May.
Crowds cheered as the former guerilla leader travelled by motorcade to the presidential palace in Dili, the capital, where he and his members of cabinet were sworn into office by President Jose Ramos-Horta, his fellow independence fighter during Indonesia’s occupation.
The new government is a coalition between Gusmao’s National Congress of the Reconstruction of East Timor, known as CNRT, and the Democratic Party.
Gusmao, 77, became the nation’s first president between 2002 and 2007, and served as prime minister between 2007 and 2015.
In the May election, his party won 41 per cent of the vote to capture 31 out of 65 seats in the National Parliament. That is just short of the 33 needed for an outright majority, and Gusmao agreed to form a government with the Democratic Party, which won six seats.
The election result indicated deep dissatisfaction with the previous government, led by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, known as Fretilin.
