Statesmen's Forum: President of Timor-Leste

José Ramos-Horta
President of Timor Leste

on

"Timor-Leste: Challenges in Nation Building and Peace Consolidation"

Moderated by Derek Mitchell, Director of the CSIS Southeast Asia Initiative

President Ramos-Horta is the second President of Timor-Leste since independence from Indonesia, taking office on 20 May 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize and a former Prime Minister, having served from 2006 until his inauguration as President after winning the 2007 East Timorese presidential election. As a founder and former member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), Ramos-Horta served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975 to 1999). While he has continued to work with FRETILIN, Ramos-Horta resigned from the party in 1988, and has since remained an independent politician.

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 in June 2006, amidst political turmoil. On June 26, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, Ramos-Horta was appointed acting Prime Minister by the President, Xanana Gusmão. Two weeks later, he was officially sworn in as the second Prime Minister of East Timor. On February 11, 2008, Ramos-Horta was injured when he was shot during an assassination attempt.