Dili, East Timor – The head of East Timor's armed forces, Major General Taur Matan Ruak, said Friday he had resigned, ahead of a possible run for the presidency in elections next year.

The veteran of East Timor's resistance struggle against Indonesia's occupation said that after three decades in the military he wanted to return to civilian life.

"Yesterday I handed my resignation letter to the president [Jose Ramos-Horta] and his excellency the prime minister [Xanana Gusmao]," Ruak told reporters in Dili.

"Because I have already served the armed forces for 36 years I think I want to go back to civilian life."

As for his presidential aspirations, Ruak said he would wait until next year to announce whether he would contest the March 2012 polls. "I want to serve those who suffered for this nation," Ruak said.

Deputy Prime Minister Jose Luis Guterres said the government had accepted Ruak's resignation during a cabinet meeting on Friday in Dili. "The letter has been accepted by the government," he told AFP.

Nobel prize laureate Ramos-Horta has not publicly announced he will seek re-election but Guterres said it had been "very obvious" for months that he intended to run.

In August, East Timor officially disbanded the Falintil pro-independence militia, which had fought against Indonesian rule for more than two decades. East Timor became fully independent in 2002.

Around 500 foreign troops under the Australian-led International Stabilisation Force are based in the small country to support local security forces.