MAKASSAR – Hasanuddin University, through the Doctoral Program in Public Administration of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), will hold a ceremony to confer the Doctor Honoris Causa degree on H.E. Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, who currently holds the mandate as Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. The conferral ceremony will take place on Saturday, 5 September 2026, at Baruga A.P. Pettarani, Unhas Campus, Tamalanrea, Makassar.
According to the Dean of FISIP Unhas, who is also the promoter, Prof. Dr. Phil. Sukri, M.Si., the figure who now serves as Prime Minister of Timor-Leste played a significant role in guiding the country from a period of conflict toward development. Xanana’s experience in public leadership and government administration is relevant to the perspective of leadership in the study of Public Administration.
According to Prof. Sukri, Xanana Gusmão has received various awards from a number of institutions for these contributions and work. However, the award from Unhas is distinctive because it is given through the perspective of leadership and placed within the academic framework of Public Administration.
“Looking at Xanana’s contributions and various achievements so far, they are certainly extraordinary. I think this award is one of the many awards Xanana has received from various institutions. But for us, the main concern is how this award is given within the framework of that leadership,” said Prof. Sukri.
This perspective cannot be separated from Xanana’s journey in Timor-Leste’s history. Xanana is known as one of the important figures in Timor-Leste’s struggle for independence. After the 1999 referendum and the transition toward independence, Xanana was elected as Timor-Leste’s first President in 2002.
Xanana then served as Prime Minister from 2007 to 2015 and has led the Timor-Leste government again since 2023. This journey places Xanana in two important phases of Timor-Leste’s history: the struggle to build the state and the management of government after independence.
For Unhas, this experience provides a strong academic context for viewing leadership as part of the process of developing administration and government. Xanana is regarded as having faced complex challenges in guiding the people of Timor-Leste from the experience of conflict toward a more stable state.
“We recognize Xanana’s success in leading the people and country toward a much better condition, especially after going through various challenges and experiences of the past,” added Prof. Sukri.
This leadership is also seen in Xanana’s efforts to maintain peaceful and harmonious relations with countries in the region. This ability is part of the leadership that contributes to Timor-Leste’s social and political conditions.
Awarded Selectively
Vice Rector for Partnerships, Internationalization, and Alumni Affairs, Prof. Ir. Suharman Hamzah, S.T., M.T., Ph.D., HSE., said that the Doctor Honoris Causa degree is a form of academic recognition awarded selectively. Recipients are assessed on the basis of extraordinary contributions and service in a particular field.
“Recipients can be Indonesian or foreign citizens with proof of extraordinary contributions and service in the fields of social and political science, technology, the arts, and other fields,” explained Prof. Suharman.
In Xanana Gusmão’s case, the contributions were considered through a leadership perspective relevant to the field of Public Administration. Awarding the degree through a doctoral program also reflects the link between a leader’s practical experience and the development of academic knowledge.
The conferral of the honorary degree on Xanana Gusmão will add to the list of important figures who have received a Doctor Honoris Causa from Unhas. Previously, Unhas has conferred honorary degrees on a number of figures, such as the first President of the Republic of Indonesia, Soekarno, on 29 April 1963 in the field of Political Science of Inter-State Relations, and Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa and an anti-apartheid struggle figure, on 10 August 2005. (*/mir)
Editor : Ishaq Rahman
This article is an English translation of the original Indonesian report.