Uruguay’s leader José Mujica must be one of the world’s most unusual presidents – he gives away 90% of his salary to charity and chooses to live a very basic lifestyle. Courtesy Dateline.

World's 'poorest president' gives most of salary to charity

HE lives in a rundown one-bedroom house he has shared with his wife of more than 30 years and his lifestyle is a far cry from other world leaders.

So it’s little wonder Uruguay President Jose Mujica, who reportedly earns around $12,000 a year and donates 90 per cent of it to charity, has been nicknamed the world’s poorest president.

Compared to US President Barack Obama who earns $400,000 in his role, and Prime Minister Tony Abbott, $500,000, Mujica is far from wealthy, but he is rich in many other ways.

The popular leader not only legalised gay marriage, abortion and marijuana, but unlike most politicians seems widely liked by his own people and many others.

#JoséMujica, President of #Uruguay waiting for his turn in a public hospital... That's how a leader should be pic.twitter.com/eD7e4OJy1g — Raheel Rao (@Rahealrao) September 14, 2014

Today my most inspiration comes from Jose Mujica. Salute El Presidente! — Murtaza Solangi (@murtazasolangi) September 18, 2014

Here’s seven other reasons why this ex-revolutionary is much more popular than our pollies.

1. Money isn’t important to Mujica

His salary pales in comparison to other world leaders. Earning around $12,000 a year, he gives around 90 per cent to charity, the BBC reported.

His wage is way below the $400,000 earned by US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron who earns around a paltry $235,000 in comparison.

And it’s definitely well below the $500,000 salary our own Prime Minister Tony Abbott earned this year.

2. He’s not big on security or flash cars

The Uruguayan leader is guarded by two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, the BBC reported.

Mujica also drives around in an old VW Beetle ditching opulence in favour of what works.

3. Mujica has served time in jail

He was a former guerilla leader in the 1960s and robbed banks to pay for uprisings across the country. The crime earned him a 13-year prison stint and torture, Dateline reported. He was released in 1985 under an amnesty at the end of the country’s dictatorship.

4. He doesn’t think highly of Australia’s asylum seeker policy

“It’s not very generous to humans. We should be aware there is a kind of racial selfishness [that is] growing, or an ultranationalism, that says ‘this is for us’”, he told Dateline.

“It’s not a very good image of Australia in the world.”

5. The leader is a YouTube sensation

His reputation for public speaking is as well known as his modest lifestyle.

His speeches criticising blatant consumerism at the Rio+20 conference in 2012, and at the United Nations in New York the following year, smashed three million YouTube views, according to The Guardian.

6. He regards legalising marijuana as an experiment

According to the President, his country’s war on drugs has failed and is prepared to ditch the experiment if it doesn’t work.

By putting the government in charge of the marijuana industry, which is estimated to be worth $US30million- $US40 million ($33 million — $45 million) a year, the bill aims to curtail illegal trafficking and the violence that comes with it.

7. Mujica isn’t afraid to tell it like it is

Last year, he was caught making disparaging remarks aimed at Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner, when talking about the close links between the two countries, after emphasising that no event or person “can uproot our common history”.

“This old hag is worse than the one-eyed guy,” Mr Mujica was caught saying, without realising that the microphones were on in reference to Mrs Kirchner and her late husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, who had a lazy eye and was nicknamed “El Tuerto” (the one-eyed guy).