Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão led the Timorese resistance which achieved independence for the people of Timor-Leste. He was the first elected President of the Republic and later served as Prime Minister.

Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão was born on 20 June 1946, in the Municipality of Manatuto, in Timor-Leste. He attended primary school at Santa Teresa, in Ossu, in the Municipality of Viqueque, the Catholic Mission “Nossa Senhora de Fátima”, in Dare, and high school Dr. Francisco Machado, in Díli.