Xanana Gusmão, charismatic prime minister of East Timor

[asakiyume]

Reasons to love Xanana Gusmão:

• As a teenage soccer goalie, he "was too busy making up sonnets to actually stop any goals" (as I found out from reading The Crossing)
  
  
• The obvious: he was a total badass freedom fighter. Forced to drop out of school at age fifteen due to lack of money, he become active advocating East Timor's independence from Portugal, then led the resistance against Indonesia after the latter invaded East Timor. He was captured in 1992 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but was released in 1999 when Indonesia withdrew from East Timor, whereupon he returned to help East Timor make a go as an independent nation.
  
  
• His nickname Xanana comes from the American rock-and-roll band Sha Na Na.
  
  
• when he got caught in a traffic jam outside the presidential office the other day, he got out of his car and helped direct traffic:
  
  

Plus, handsome!

Simultaneously warm and distinguished


and back in his freedom-fighter days


This guy SMILED FOR THE CAMERA when he was captured! How's *that* for ... I don't know, confidence? Or something!


Looking gentle and fatherly at the birth of one of his children


Making up for his youthful soccer losses


There you have it. Xanana Gusmão!

Comments

[dudeshoes.livejournal.com]

I think I understand what country is W---

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Lots of countries contributed to W--! East Timor lacks a volcano, for one thing. And itonly became its own independent country in 1999 (and only said goodbye to the last UN peacekeepers this past December), whereas W-- has been independent since 1961 or 1963, I forget which (must check my notes).

But yes. East Timor is among them, for sure!