DILI, East Timor (AP) — Francisco Guterres, who served as president of East Timor and was a central figure in the nation’s long fight for independence, has passed away at the age of 71.
Guterres, commonly known by his resistance nickname “Lu Olo,” died Sunday at Prince Court Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, according to a statement posted on his official Facebook page by his family. No cause of death was immediately provided. He had been receiving treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
He held the presidency from 2017 to 2022, the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to the political and armed struggle that ultimately brought independence to Southeast Asia’s youngest nation in 2002.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim extended his condolences to Guterres’ family and the people of East Timor, also known as Timor Leste. “Throughout his life, he remained committed to the freedom of his people and the building of a democratic nation,” Ibrahim said.
Fretilin, the political party Guterres had led for many years, described his passing as a “profound loss” for everyone who shared the vision of a free, democratic, and sovereign East Timor. The party noted his unwavering commitment to the independence cause and his contributions to national unity, dialogue, peace, and political stability over the course of his public life.
Born on September 7, 1954, in Ossu, a town in the Viqueque District of what was then Portuguese Timor, Guterres became a prominent voice in the resistance against Indonesia’s occupation of the territory, which lasted from 1975 to 1999. As a senior leader within Fretilin, he played an important role in guiding the country through its transition to independence following a United Nations-backed referendum in 1999.
Guterres served as president of the Constituent Assembly in 2001, where he oversaw the creation of East Timor’s constitution. After independence was achieved in 2002, he became the first speaker of the National Parliament. Though he made several unsuccessful attempts at the presidency, he was finally elected in 2017 and served one term. In 2022, he lost his reelection campaign to current President Jose Ramos-Horta, another veteran of the independence movement.
He is survived by his wife, Cidalia Lopes Nobre Mouzinho Guterres, and their children. Funeral arrangements had not yet been announced at the time of this report.
