José Manuel Ramos-Horta
GCL GColIH (; born 26 December 1949) is an
East Timor
Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...
ese politician. He has been the
president of East Timor
The president of Timor-Leste, officially the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of state of the Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited; however, the P ...
since 2022, having previously also held the position from 20 May 2007 to 20 May 2012. Previously he was
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
from 2002 to 2006 and
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
from 2006 to 2007. He was a co-recipient of the 1996
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
, along with
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".
As a founder and former member of
Fretilin, Ramos-Horta served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...
(1975–1999). While he continued to work with Fretilin, he resigned from the party in 1988, becoming an
independent politician
An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or Bureaucracy, bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Some politicia ...
.
After East Timor achieved independence in 2002, Ramos-Horta was appointed as the country's first foreign minister. He served in this position until his resignation on 25 June 2006, amidst
political turmoil. On 26 June 2006, following the resignation of Prime Minister
Mari Alkatiri, Ramos-Horta was appointed as acting prime minister by President
Xanana Gusmão
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
. Two weeks later, on 10 July 2006, he was sworn in as the second prime minister of East Timor. He was
elected as President in 2007. On 11 February 2008, he was shot during an
assassination attempt.
After leaving office as president in 2012, Ramos-Horta was appointed as the
United Nations' Special Representative and Head of the
United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS) on 2 January 2013. He was re-elected to the presidency in
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.
Early life
Ramos-Horta was born in 1949 in
Dili
Dili (Portuguese language, Portuguese and Tetum language, Tetum: ''Díli'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Timor-Leste. It lies on the northern coast of the island of Timor, in a small area of flat land hemmed in by mountai ...
, the capital of East Timor. He is of
Mestiço
''Mestiço'' is a Portuguese term that referred to persons of mixed European and Indigenous non-European ancestry in the former Portuguese Empire.
Mestiço community in Brazil
In Colonial Brazil, it was initially used to refer to , persons b ...
ethnicity, born to a Portuguese father and Portuguese-Timorese mother. Both his father (Francisco Horta) and maternal grandfather (Arsénio José Filipe) were deported to Timor by Portuguese authorities. He was educated in a
Catholic mission in the small village of
Soibada, later chosen by Fretilin as its headquarters after the
Indonesian invasion. Of his eleven brothers and sisters, four were killed by the
Indonesian military.
Ramos-Horta studied public
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
at
The Hague Academy of International Law in 1983 and at
Antioch University
Antioch University is a private university with multiple campuses in the United States and online programs. It is the continuation of Antioch College, which was founded in 1852. Antioch College's first president was politician, abolitionist, and ...
in
Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a Village (Ohio), village in northern Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Dayton, Dayton metropolitan area and is home to Antioch ...
, where he completed an Individualized Master of Arts degree in Peace Studies with the major area of study being Public International Law and International Relations, awarded in December 1984. He was trained in
human rights law
International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...
at the
International Institute of Human Rights in
Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
in 1983. He completed post-graduate courses in
American foreign policy
The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1983.
Personal life
He has been a Senior Associate Member of the University of Oxford's
St Antony's College
St Antony's College is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in intern ...
since 1987 and speaks five languages fluently:
Portuguese,
English,
French,
Spanish, and the most commonly spoken East Timorese language,
Tetum
Tetum may refer to:
* Tetum language, an Austronesian language
** Tetum alphabet, used to write the Tetum language
* Tetum people, an ethnic group of East Timor and Indonesia
{{disambiguation
Language and nationality disambiguation pages ...
.
Ramos-Horta is divorced from
Ana Pessoa Pinto, East Timor's Minister for State and Internal Administration, with whom he has a son, Loro Horta, who was born in exile in
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
.
Political career
Ramos-Horta was actively involved in the development of political awareness in Portuguese Timor, which caused him to be exiled for two years in 1970–1971 to
Portuguese East Africa
Portuguese Mozambique () or Portuguese East Africa () were the common terms by which Mozambique was designated during the period in which it was a Portuguese Empire, Portuguese overseas province. Portuguese Mozambique originally constituted a str ...
. His grandfather, before him, had also been exiled, from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
to the
Azores Islands, then
Cape Verde
Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...
,
Portuguese Guinea
Portuguese Guinea (), called the Overseas Province of Guinea from 1951 until 1972 and then State of Guinea from 1972 until 1974, was a Portuguese overseas province in West Africa from 1588 until 10 September 1974, when it gained independence as G ...
and finally to Portuguese Timor.
A moderate in the emerging Timorese nationalist leadership, Ramos-Horta was appointed
Foreign Minister
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...
in the "Democratic Republic of East Timor" government proclaimed by the pro-independence parties in November 1975. When appointed minister, Ramos-Horta was only 25 years old. Three days before the Indonesian troops invaded, Ramos-Horta left East Timor to plead the Timorese case before the UN.
Ramos-Horta arrived in New York to address the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
and urge them to take action in the face of the Indonesian occupation during which an estimated 102,000 East Timorese would die. Ramos-Horta was the Permanent Representative of Fretilin to the UN for the next ten years. His friends at that time mentioned that he arrived in the United States with a total of $25 in his pocket. His financial situation was often precarious during that period. He survived partly by the grace of Americans who admired his politics and his determination. Furthermore, he was obliged to travel worldwide to explain his party's position.
In 1993, the
Rafto Prize
The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (''Raftoprisen'') is a human rights award established in the memory of the Norwegian human rights activist, Thorolf Rafto.
Organization
The prize is awarded annually by the Rafto Foundation for Human R ...
was awarded to the people of East Timor. Foreign-minister-in-exile Ramos-Horta represented his nation at the prize ceremony. In May 1994,
Philippine President
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in- ...
Fidel Ramos
Fidel Valdez Ramos (; March 18, 1928 – July 31, 2022), popularly known as FVR, was a Filipino general and politician who served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was the only career military officer to reached ...
(no relation), bowing to pressure from
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
, tried to ban an international conference on East Timor in
Manila
Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
and blacklisted Ramos-Horta, with the Thai government following suit later that year by declaring him ''
persona non grata
In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...
''.
In December 1996, Ramos-Horta shared the
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
with fellow Timorese
Bishop Ximenes Belo. The Nobel Committee chose to honour the two laureates for their "sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people", hoping that "this award will spur efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict of East Timor based on the people's right to
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
". On
The InnerView, Ramos-Horta said that he utilizes the Nobel Peace Prize as a vehicle to advocate on behalf of his country, as well as for the Palestinians and the people of Myanmar.
The Committee considered Ramos-Horta "the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975".
Ramos-Horta played a leading role in negotiating the institutional foundations for independence. He led the Timorese delegation at an important joint workshop with UNTAET on 1 March 2000 to tease out a new strategy, and identify institutional needs. The outcome was an agreed blueprint for a joint administration with executive powers, including leaders of the
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT). Further details were worked out in a conference in May 2000. The
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in East Timor,
Sérgio Vieira de Mello, presented the new blueprint to a donor conference in Lisbon, on 22 June 2000, and to the UN Security Council on 27 June 2000. On 12 July 2000, the NCC adopted a regulation establishing a Transitional Cabinet composed of four East Timorese and four UNTAET representatives. The revamped joint administration successfully laid the institutional
foundations for independence, and on 27 September 2002, East Timor joined the United Nations. Ramos-Horta was its first Foreign Minister.
Premiership (2006–2007)
On 3 June 2006, Ramos-Horta added the post of Interim Minister of Defense to his portfolio as Foreign Minister, in the wake of the resignations of the previous minister. He resigned as both Foreign and Defence Minister on 25 June 2006, announcing, "I do not wish to be associated with the present government or with any government involving
Alkatiri." Prime Minister Alkatiri had been under pressure to resign his position in place of President
Xanana Gusmão
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
, but in a 25 June meeting, leaders of the Fretilin party agreed to keep Alkatiri as prime minister; Ramos-Horta resigned immediately following this decision.
Foreign Minister of Australia Alexander Downer expressed his personal disappointment at Ramos-Horta's resignation. Following Alkatiri's resignation on 26 June, Ramos-Horta withdrew his resignation to contest the prime ministership and served in the position on a temporary basis until a successor to Alkatiri was named. On 8 July 2006, Ramos-Horta himself was appointed prime minister by President Gusmão. He was sworn in on 10 July.
Before his appointment as prime minister, Ramos-Horta was considered a possible candidate to succeed
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
as
United Nations Secretary-General
The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...
. He dropped out of the race in order to serve as East Timor's Prime Minister, but he has indicated that he might run for the UN position at some time in the future: "I can wait five years if I am really interested in the job in 2012. I would be interested in that."
First election to presidency (2007)
In an interview with
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
broadcast on 22 February 2007, Ramos-Horta said that he would run for president in the
April 2007 election. On 25 February 2007, Ramos-Horta formally announced his candidacy. He received the support of Gusmão, who was not running for re-election. In an interview with ''
Global South Development Magazine'', Ramos-Horta revealed that
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...
was his greatest hero.
In the first round of the election, held on 9 April, Ramos-Horta took second place with 21.81% of the vote; he and Fretilin candidate
Francisco Guterres, who took first place, then participated in the second round of the election in May. The full results of the runoff elections were made public by East Timor's National Electoral Committee spokeswoman, Maria Angelina Sarmento, on 11 May, and Ramos-Horta won with 69.18% of the vote.
He was inaugurated as
President of East Timor
The president of Timor-Leste, officially the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of state of the Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited; however, the P ...
in a ceremony at the parliament house in Dili on 20 May 2007. He had resigned as
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
the day before and was succeeded by
Estanislau da Silva.
Assassination attempt
On 11 February 2008, Ramos-Horta was shot in an assassination attempt. In the gun skirmish, one of his guards was wounded, and two rebel soldiers, including rebel leader
Alfredo Reinado, were killed.
Ramos-Horta was treated at an
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...
hospital in Dili operated by
Aspen Medical, before being transferred to the
Royal Darwin Hospital
The Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) is a 360-bed Australian teaching hospital located in Tiwi, Northern Territory, Tiwi, a northern suburb of Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory. It is part of the Top End Health Service, which co ...
in Australia on board an Aspen Medical air ambulance for further treatment. Doctors thought that he had been shot two or three times with the most serious injury being to his right lung. His condition was listed as critical but stable. He was placed in an
induced coma
An induced comaalso known as a medically induced coma (MIC), barbiturate-induced coma, or drug-induced comais a temporary coma (a deep state of unconsciousness) brought on by a controlled dose of an anesthetic drug, often a barbiturate such as pe ...
on full
life support
Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...
, and regained consciousness on 21 February. A message from Ramos-Horta, still recovering in Darwin, was broadcast on 12 March. In this message, he thanked his supporters and Australia and said that he had "been very well looked after". A spokesman said that his condition was improving and that he had started taking short daily walks for exercise.
Ramos-Horta was released from the Royal Darwin Hospital on 19 March, although he said that he would stay in Australia for
physical therapy
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...
for "a few more weeks". He also said on this occasion that he had remained conscious following the shooting and "remember
devery detail", describing how he was taken for treatment. On 17 April, he returned to Dili from Darwin. He gave a press conference at the airport in which he urged the remaining rebels in the mountains to surrender.
2012 bid for presidency
During the first round of the presidential elections of 2012, held on 17 March, Ramos-Horta, who was eligible for a second and final term as president, took third place with 19.43% of the vote behind the presidential candidates
Francisco Guterres with 27.28% and
Taur Matan Ruak 24.17% of the vote. He admitted defeat, and his term as president ended on 19 May, with the inauguration of Taur Matan Ruak as his successor.
Second election to presidency (2022)
Ramos-Horta came out of retirement as he stated that incumbent president Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres had violated the constitution.
He stated that if he won the presidential election, he would dissolve parliament and call for new elections.
His campaign was supported by
Xanana Gusmão
José Alexandre "Xanana" Gusmão (; born 20 June 1946) is an East Timorese politician. He has served as the 6th prime minister of East Timor since 2023, previously serving in that position from 2007 to 2015. A former rebel, he also served as E ...
, who was dubbed the "Kingmaker of Timor Leste".
Ramos-Horta ran on a platform of poverty reduction, increasing healthcare services for mothers and children, as well as increasing job creation.
He also stated that he wanted to try and improve communication across the governing political parties for the purposes of increasing stability.
In addition, he stated his intention on working with the government to address supply chain issues from the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.
The runoff was between Ramos-Horta, and the incumbent
Francisco Guterres. In the runoff Ramos-Horta received 62.10% of the vote and defeated Guterres in a landslide, who received 37.90% percent of the vote. Speaking to supporters in a rally, Ramos-Horta proclaimed: "I have received this mandate from our people, from the nation in an overwhelming demonstration of our people's commitment to democracy."
He added he had not spoken to Guterres personally after the win but had received an invitation from Guterres' office to discuss a handover of power following the election.
The
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...
congratulated Ramos-Horta on his election as Timor-Leste’s next president and looked forward to strengthen the partnership between the United States and Timor-Leste. In a statement, they praised the election, stating; "We commend Timorese authorities, including the Technical Secretariat for Electoral Administration and the National Elections Commission, for administering a free, fair, and transparent election and the hundreds of thousands of Timorese voters who cast their ballots peacefully. Timor-Leste’s election serves as an inspiration for democracy in Southeast Asia, the Indo-Pacific region, and the world. This achievement represents another milestone in Timor-Leste’s tremendous work to build and strengthen its robust, vibrant democracy over its nearly 20-year history as an independent nation." His victory was also congratulated by the President of Portugal
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...
giving "the warmest congratulations on the election as president of the Republic of Timor-Leste".
Ramos-Horta was sworn in as
president of East Timor
The president of Timor-Leste, officially the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor Leste (; ) is the head of state of the Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. The executive powers of the president are limited; however, the P ...
in a
peaceful transfer of power on 20 May 2022; the 20th independence anniversary of East Timor.
Other activities

Following the
2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d'état
On 12 April 2012, a coup d'état in Guinea-Bissau was staged by elements of the armed forces about two weeks before the second round of a 2012 Guinea-Bissau presidential election, presidential election between Carlos Gomes Júnior and Kumba Ial ...
, he offered to mediate the conflict. He also served as the UN special envoy to the country.
He is the author of the book ''Words of Hope in Troubled Times''.
Ramos-Horta has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board for TheCommunity.com, a web site for peace and human rights, since 2000. In 2001 he gathered the post 9/11 statements of 28 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates on the web site, and has spearheaded other peace initiatives with his fellow Nobel Laureates.
Ramos-Horta supported the
U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq and condemned the
anti-American
Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...
tone of
its detractors as "hypocritical". In the 1990s he had supported the cause of
Kurdish people in Iraq.
In May 2009 Ramos-Horta stated that he would ask the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
to investigate the
ruling junta of Myanmar if they continue to detain fellow Nobel Laureate
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi (born 19 June 1945) is a Burmese politician, diplomat, author, and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. She served as State Counsellor of Myanmar and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Myanmar), Ministe ...
. Ramos-Horta suggested that Suu Kyi’s inability to express her frustration with the treatment of Rohingya Muslims was due to the fact that she lacked the political power to effect change.
However, by August 2010, he had softened his views on
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
, warmly receiving the Myanmar Foreign Minister
Nyan Win
Nyan Win (, ; born 22 January 1953) is a former Chief Minister of Bago Region, having served from 2011 to 2016. He won a Regional Hluttaw seat in an uncontested election in 2010, representing Zigon Township, and was appointed Chief Minister of ...
, and said that he wanted to improve relations and seek strong commercial ties with Myanmar.
In 2006, Ramos-Horta pledged his support for the
International Simultaneous Policy (SIMPOL) which seeks to end the usual deadlock in tackling global issues.
[About](_blank)
Simpol-UK (International Simultaneous Policy Organization
The International Simultaneous Policy Organisation (ISPO) is a voluntary organization that promotes the Simultaneous Policy (Simpol) campaign. It was founded by British businessman, John Bunzl, in 2000.About Simpol-UKuk.simpol.org - About Simpol ...
)
On 5 August 2009, he attended the funeral of the former president of the
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
Corazon Aquino
María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...
. He was the only foreign head of state to attend. On 30 June 2010, he attended the
inauguration
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
of
Benigno S. Aquino III, the 15th
President of the Philippines
The president of the Philippines (, sometimes referred to as ) is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-ch ...
. He was, again, the only
head of state
A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "he head of state
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...
being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...
who attended the inauguration and the first dignitary to arrive in the Philippines for the inauguration.
Ramos-Horta is a Member of the
Global Leadership Foundation The Global Leadership Foundation (GLF) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization consisting of a network of former heads of state/government and other distinguished leaders (GLF Members), who seek to assist developing countries in improving gov ...
, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today's national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.
In August 2017, ten Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including Ramos-Horta, urged
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
to stop the executions of 14 young people for participating in the
2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests.
He is also a television presenter of ''Horta Show'' in
Radio-Televisão Timor Leste.
In 2021 Ramos-Horta joined the judging committee for the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, an annual award instituted "to promote human fraternity values around the world and to fulfill the aspirations of the Document on Human Fraternity, co-signed by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Professor Ahmed Al-Tayeb in 2019". The first meeting of the committee was held in the Vatican with Pope Francis on 6 October 2021.
Awards
Nobel Prize
The Roman Catholic bishop
Ximenes Belo of East Timor and Ramos-Horta were jointly awarded the 1996
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
for their efforts.
Other awards
* Golden Plate Award of the
American Academy of Achievement
The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...
(2002)
Honours
*
** Honorary Companion of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(25 November 2013), ''for eminent service to strengthening Australia and Timor-Leste bilateral relations and for his outstanding leadership to bring independence to Timor-Leste.''
*
** 1st Class of the (6 July 2011)
*
** Grand Collar of the
Order of Camões (31 October 2022)
**

Grand Collar of the
Order of Prince Henry
The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...
(13 November 2007)
**

Grand-Cross of the
Order of Liberty
The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom (), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignity. The order was cr ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
(9 June 1998)
*Conferred an Honorary Doctorate in Political Science by the
University of Cambodia (2010)
Film depictions
The 2000 documentary ''
The Diplomat'', directed by
Tom Zubrycki, follows Ramos-Horta in the period from 1998 to his return to East Timor in 2000. Ramos-Horta is played by
Oscar Isaac
Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is an American actor. Recognized for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino characters in Cinema of the United States, H ...
in the 2009 film ''
Balibo''. The film tells the story of the
Balibo Five
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian commercial television networks who were murdered in the period leading up to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor. The Balibo Five were based in the town of Balibo in East Timor (then P ...
and the events preceding the
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
The Indonesian occupation of East Timor began in December 1975 and lasted until October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese Timor, Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Portugal led to the decolonisation of ...
.
See also
*
2007 East Timorese presidential election
*
2012 East Timorese presidential election
*
List of peace activists
This list of peace activists includes people who have proactively advocated Diplomacy, diplomatic, philosophical, and non-military resolution of major territorial or ideological disputes through nonviolent means and methods. Peace activists usua ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Ramos-Horta's website*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramos-Horta, Jose
1949 births
Catholic socialists
East Timorese Christian socialists
East Timorese lawyers
East Timorese Nobel laureates
East Timorese people of Portuguese descent
Television personalities
East Timorese refugees
East Timorese Roman Catholics
Fellows of St Antony's College, Oxford
Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty
Grand Collars of the Order of Prince Henry
The Hague Academy of International Law people
Honorary companions of the Order of Australia
Living people
Nobel Peace Prize laureates
Columbia University alumni
People from Dili
Presidents of Timor-Leste
Prime ministers of Timor-Leste
Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste
Fretilin politicians
Shooting survivors