Xanana Gusmao Steps Down: Making Way for New Leaders

Xanana Gusmao, the Prime Minister of East Timor, sent in his resignation letter and is stepping down to allow for a new generation of leaders. Gusmao was a guerilla leader who led East Timor to independence in a long struggle against Indonesia after gaining independence from Portugal (a former colonizer) in 1975. Like Nelson Mandela Gusmao, too, spent years behind bars as a political prisoner and still led the movement.

In cases where leaders help to win their country’s independence and lead the people thereafter, there is always the possibility of not knowing when to step down or if your people and country can remain stable without you. Gusmao understands that each generation produces new leaders and a country committed to progress must support these changes. He is an example to other leaders of how to lead and pass on a movement when your time has come.