DILI, East Timor (AP) – East Timor independence hero Xanana Gusmao resigned as prime minister Friday, stepping down ahead of an expected restructuring of the government next week.
Gusmao, 68, is a former guerrilla leader who spearheaded East Timor’s drive for independence when Indonesian rule ended in 2002.
He was the first president of the new country, from 2002 to 2007, and then prime minister for more than seven years.
East Timor voted overwhelmingly in 1999 to end 24 years of brutal Indonesian occupation that had left more than 170,000 dead, but the country has struggled since then to develop economically. About half of the population of 1.2 million people live in poverty.
An adviser to Gusmao, who did not want to give his name because he’s not authorized to speak publicly about the resignation, said Gusmao felt now was the time to pass the responsibility of governing to the next generation.