José Ramos Horta
Encyclopedia
José Manuel Ramos-Horta (ʒuˈzɛ ˈʁɐmuz ˈoɾtɐ), GCL
(born 26 December 1949) is the President
of East Timor
, the second 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 Timor
ese 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 on 25 June 2006, amidst political turmoil
. On 26 June, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri
, Ramos-Horta was appointed acting Prime Minister by the President
, Xanana Gusmão
. Two weeks later, on 10 July 2006, he was officially sworn in as the second Prime Minister of East Timor. On 11 February 2008, Ramos-Horta was injured when he was shot during an assassination attempt.
, capital of East Timor, to a Timorese mother and a Portuguese
father who had been exiled to what was then Portuguese Timor
by the Salazar
dictatorship. He was educated in a Catholic mission
in the small village of Soibada, later chosen by FRETILIN as headquarters after the Indonesian invasion. Of his eleven brothers and sisters, four were killed by the Indonesian military.
Ramos-Horta studied Public International Law
at the Hague Academy of International Law
(1983) and at Antioch University
where he completed a Master of Arts degree in Peace Studies (1984). He was trained in Human Rights Law at the International Institute of Human Rights
in Strasbourg
(1983). He completed Post-Graduate courses in American Foreign Policy at Columbia University
in New York (1983). He is a Senior Associate Member of the University of Oxford's St Antony's College
(1987) and speaks fluently in five languages: Portuguese
, plus English, French, Spanish and the most commonly spoken East Timorese language, Tetum
.
He is divorced from Ana Pessoa Pinto, East Timor's Minister for State and Internal Administration, with whom he had a son, Loro Horta, born in exile in Mozambique
.
. His grandfather, before him, had also been exiled, from Portugal
to the Azores
Islands, then Cape Verde
, Portuguese Guinea
and finally to Portuguese Timor.
A moderate in the emerging Timorese nationalist leadership, he was appointed Foreign Minister
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. Ramos-Horta left East Timor three days before the Indonesian troops invaded to plead the Timorese case before the UN.
Ramos-Horta arrived in New York to address the UN Security Council
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 twenty-five dollars in his pocket. His pecuniary situation was often straitened in that period; he survived partly by grace of Americans who admired his politics and his determination. Further, he was obliged to travel worldwide to explain his party's position.
In 1993, the Rafto Prize was awarded to the people of East Timor. Foreign-minister-in-exile José Ramos-Horta represented his nation at the prize ceremony. In May 1994, Philippine President Fidel Ramos, bowing to pressure from Jakarta
, tried to ban an international conference on East Timor in Manila, blacklisting Ramos-Horta, and the Thai government followed suite later that year by declaring him persona non grata
.
In December 1996, Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize
with his fellow countryman, 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". 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.
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
, 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
as United Nations Secretary-General
. 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."
In an interview with Al Jazeera
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 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 Electorial Committee spokeswoman, Maria Angelina Sarmento, on 11 May, and Ramos-Horta won with 69% of the vote.
of East Timor
in a ceremony at the parliament house in Dili
on 20 May 2007. He had resigned as Prime Minister
the day before and was succeeded by Estanislau da Silva
.
Australian military base before being transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital
in Australia 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
on full life support
, 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
for "a few more weeks". He also said on this occasion that he had remained conscious following the shooting and "remember[ed] every detail", describing how he was taken for treatment. On 17 April, Ramos-Horta 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.
conferences.
The chairman of terrorist organization in India - ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa
told Ramos as the main force behind the Ulfa making an impact in the international fora
He 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 US invasion and occupation of Iraq, and condemned the anti-American 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 to investigate the ruling junta of Burma (Myanmar) if they continue to detain fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
. However by August 2010, he softened his views on Myanmar, he warmly received the Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win
, and said that he wants to improve relations and seek strong commercial ties with Myanmar.
On 5 August 2009, he attended the funeral of the late former president of the Philippines
Corazon Aquino
. He was the only foreign head of state to attend.
On 29 September 2009, he delivered the prestigious Legatum Pericles Lecture at the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
.
On 30 June 2010, he attended the inauguration
of Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III
, the 15th President of the Philippines. He is the only head of state
who attended the inauguration and the first dignitary to arrive in the Philippines for the inauguration. He is a close friend of the Aquino family.
in the 2009 film Balibo
. The film tells the story of the Balibo Five
and the events preceding the Indonesian occupation of East Timor
.
|-
|-
Order of the Freedom
Order of the Freedom can refer to:*Order of Freedom - Yugoslavian military decoration*Order of Liberty - Portuguese honorific civil order...
(born 26 December 1949) is the President
President of East Timor
The President of East Timor is the Head of state of the East Timorese republic, elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The role is largely symbolic, though he is able to veto some legislation. Following elections, the president appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party...
of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
, the second since independence from Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, taking office on 20 May 2007. He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
and a former Prime Minister
Prime Minister of East Timor
The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste is the head of government in East Timor. The President is the head of state. The Prime Minister is chosen by the political party or alliance of political parties with a majority in the national legislature and is formally appointed by the president...
, having served from 2006 until his inauguration as President after winning the 2007 East Timorese presidential election
East Timorese presidential election, 2007
The 2007 East Timorese presidential election involved two separate votes. The first, on 9 April 2007 eliminated six of the eight nominees. The remaining two candidates, current Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta and Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor President Francisco Guterres, faced...
.
As a founder and former member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor
Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor
The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor is a leftist political party in East Timor. They presently hold a plurality of seats in the National Parliament and formed the government in East Timor from independence until 2007...
(FRETILIN), Ramos-Horta served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
ese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesia occupied East Timor from December 1975 to October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to decolonization among its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain...
(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
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
.
After East Timor achieved independence in 2002, Ramos-Horta was appointed as the country's first Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
. He served in this position until his resignation on 25 June 2006, amidst political turmoil
2006 East Timor crisis
The 2006 East Timorese crisis began as a conflict between elements of the military of East Timor over discrimination within the military, and expanded to a coup attempt and general violence throughout the country, centred in the capital Dili...
. On 26 June, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri
Mari Alkatiri
Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri was the first Prime Minister of an internationally-recognized East Timor. He served from May 2002 until he resigned on 26 June 2006 following weeks of political unrest in the country...
, Ramos-Horta was appointed acting Prime Minister by the President
President of East Timor
The President of East Timor is the Head of state of the East Timorese republic, elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The role is largely symbolic, though he is able to veto some legislation. Following elections, the president appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party...
, Xanana Gusmão
Xanana Gusmão
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão GCL is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007...
. Two weeks later, on 10 July 2006, he was officially sworn in as the second Prime Minister of East Timor. On 11 February 2008, Ramos-Horta was injured when he was shot during an assassination attempt.
Early history and family
Of mestiço ethnicity, Ramos-Horta was born in 1949 at DiliDili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, capital of East Timor, to a Timorese mother and a Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
father who had been exiled to what was then Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
by the Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar, GColIH, GCTE, GCSE served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He also served as acting President of the Republic briefly in 1951. He founded and led the Estado Novo , the authoritarian, right-wing government that presided over and controlled Portugal...
dictatorship. He was educated in a Catholic mission
Catholic missions
As the church normally organizes itself along territorial lines, and because they had the human and material resources, religious orders—some even specializing in it—undertook most missionary work, especially in the early phases...
in the small village of Soibada, later chosen by FRETILIN as 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
Public international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states; analogous entities, such as the Holy See; and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
at the Hague Academy of International Law
Hague Academy of International Law
The Hague Academy of International Law is a center for high-level education in both public and private international law housed in the Peace Palace in The Hague, The Netherlands...
(1983) and at Antioch University
Antioch University
Antioch University is an American university with five campuses located in four states. Campuses are located in Los Angeles, California; Santa Barbara, California; Keene, New Hampshire; Yellow Springs, Ohio; and Seattle, Washington. Additionally, Antioch University houses two institution-wide...
where he completed a Master of Arts degree in Peace Studies (1984). He was trained in Human Rights Law at the International Institute of Human Rights
International Institute of Human Rights
The International Institute of Human Rights is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
(1983). He completed Post-Graduate courses in American Foreign Policy at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York (1983). He is a Senior Associate Member of the University of Oxford's St Antony's College
St Antony's College, Oxford
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.St Antony's is the most international of the seven all-graduate colleges of the University of Oxford, specialising in international relations, economics, politics, and history of particular parts of the...
(1987) and speaks fluently in five languages: Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
, plus English, French, Spanish and the most commonly spoken East Timorese language, Tetum
Tetum language
Tetum is an Austronesian language, a national language and one of the two official languages of East Timor. It is also used in parts of West Timor that adjoin East Timor, particularly in Belu Regency...
.
He is divorced from Ana Pessoa Pinto, East Timor's Minister for State and Internal Administration, with whom he had a son, Loro Horta, born in exile in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
.
Political career
He was actively involved in the development of political awareness in Portuguese Timor which caused him to be exiled for two years in 1970–71 to Portuguese East AfricaPortuguese East Africa
Mozambique or Portuguese East Africa was the common name by which the Portuguese Empire's territorial expansion in East Africa was known across different periods of time...
. His grandfather, before him, had also been exiled, from Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
Islands, then Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Portuguese Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
and finally to Portuguese Timor.
A moderate in the emerging Timorese nationalist leadership, he was appointed Foreign Minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
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. Ramos-Horta left East Timor three days before the Indonesian troops invaded to plead the Timorese case before the UN.
Ramos-Horta arrived in New York to address the UN Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
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 twenty-five dollars in his pocket. His pecuniary situation was often straitened in that period; he survived partly by grace of Americans who admired his politics and his determination. Further, he was obliged to travel worldwide to explain his party's position.
In 1993, the Rafto Prize was awarded to the people of East Timor. Foreign-minister-in-exile José Ramos-Horta represented his nation at the prize ceremony. In May 1994, Philippine President Fidel Ramos, bowing to pressure from Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, tried to ban an international conference on East Timor in Manila, blacklisting Ramos-Horta, and the Thai government followed suite later that year by declaring him persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
.
In December 1996, Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
with his fellow countryman, Bishop Ximenes Belo
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo SDB, GCL is an East Timorese Roman Catholic bishop. Along with José Ramos-Horta, he received the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for work "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor."...
. 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". 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
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction
National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction is a political party in East Timor founded by former President Xanana Gusmão in March 2007 in preparation for the 2007 parliamentary election....
(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
Sérgio Vieira de Mello
Sérgio Vieira de Mello was a Brazilian United Nations employee who worked for the UN for more than 34 years, earning respect and praise around the world for his efforts in the humanitarian and political programs of the UN...
, 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.
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
Mari Alkatiri
Mari Bim Amude Alkatiri was the first Prime Minister of an internationally-recognized East Timor. He served from May 2002 until he resigned on 26 June 2006 following weeks of political unrest in the country...
." Prime Minister Alkatiri had been under pressure to resign his position in place of President Xanana Gusmão
Xanana Gusmão
Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão GCL is a former militant who was the first President of East Timor, serving from May 2002 to May 2007...
, 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
Alexander Downer
Alexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
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 Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
as United Nations Secretary-General
United Nations Secretary-General
The Secretary-General of the United Nations is the head of the Secretariat of the United Nations, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
. 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."
In an interview with Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
broadcast on 22 February 2007, Ramos-Horta said that he would run for president in the April 2007 election
East Timorese presidential election, 2007
The 2007 East Timorese presidential election involved two separate votes. The first, on 9 April 2007 eliminated six of the eight nominees. The remaining two candidates, current Prime Minister José Ramos-Horta and Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor President Francisco Guterres, faced...
. On 25 February 2007, Ramos-Horta formally announced his candidacy. He received the support of Gusmão, who was not running for re-election.
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
Francisco Guterres
Francisco Guterres, popularly known as Lu Olo is the President of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor . He was also President of the National Parliament of East Timor from 2002 to 2007...
, 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 Electorial Committee spokeswoman, Maria Angelina Sarmento, on 11 May, and Ramos-Horta won with 69% of the vote.
Presidency
He was inaugurated as PresidentPresident of East Timor
The President of East Timor is the Head of state of the East Timorese republic, elected by popular vote for a five-year term. The role is largely symbolic, though he is able to veto some legislation. Following elections, the president appoints as the prime minister, the leader of the majority party...
of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
in a ceremony at the parliament house in Dili
Dili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
on 20 May 2007. He had resigned as Prime Minister
Prime Minister of East Timor
The Prime Minister of Timor-Leste is the head of government in East Timor. The President is the head of state. The Prime Minister is chosen by the political party or alliance of political parties with a majority in the national legislature and is formally appointed by the president...
the day before and was succeeded by Estanislau da Silva
Estanislau da Silva
Estanislau da Conceição Aleixo Maria da Silva is an East Timorese politician and a key member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor...
.
Assassination attempt
On 11 February 2008, José Ramos-Horta was shot in an assassination attempt. In the gun skirmish, one of Ramos-Horta's guards was wounded, and two rebel soldiers, including rebel leader Alfredo Reinado, were killed. Ramos-Horta was treated at DiliDili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
Australian military base before being transferred to the Royal Darwin Hospital
Royal Darwin Hospital
Royal Darwin Hospital is a 345-bed teaching hospital located in the northern suburbs of Darwin, Northern Territory.-History:The first hospital of the settlement of Palmerston was built in 1874. The hospital was built on Packard Street overlooking Doctors Gully under the authority of Dr James...
in Australia 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
Induced coma
A barbiturate-induced coma, or barb coma, is a temporary coma brought on by a controlled dose of a barbiturate drug, usually pentobarbital or thiopental...
on full life support
Life support
Life support, in medicine is a broad term that applies to any therapy used to sustain a patient's life while they are critically ill or injured. There are many therapies and techniques that may be used by clinicians to achieve the goal of sustaining life...
, 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
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
for "a few more weeks". He also said on this occasion that he had remained conscious following the shooting and "remember[ed] every detail", describing how he was taken for treatment. On 17 April, Ramos-Horta 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.
Other activities
Ramos-Horta is a frequent speaker, along with other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, at PeacejamPeacejam
The PeaceJam Foundation is an international organization whose missions statement is "to create young leaders committed to positive change in themselves, their communities and the world through the inspiration of Nobel Peace Laureates who pass on the spirit, skills, and wisdom they embody." The...
conferences.
The chairman of terrorist organization in India - ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa
Arabinda Rajkhowa
Arabinda Rajkhowa , , alias Mijanur Rahman Choudhury is the Chaiman of the banned outfit ULFA. He is one of the founder members of the outfit. He was also the Vice-President of the Indo-Burma Revolutionary Front...
told Ramos as the main force behind the Ulfa making an impact in the international fora
He has served as Chairman of the Advisory Board for TheCommunity.com
TheCommunity.com
Founded in 1999 as a portal for non-profit organizations, TheCommunity.com provides news, projects and interaction with global leaders including the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize...
, 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 US invasion and occupation of Iraq, and condemned the anti-American 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 to investigate the ruling junta of Burma (Myanmar) if they continue to detain fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi, AC is a Burmese opposition politician and the General Secretary of the National League for Democracy. In the 1990 general election, her National League for Democracy party won 59% of the national votes and 81% of the seats in Parliament. She had, however, already been detained...
. However by August 2010, he softened his views on Myanmar, he warmly received the Myanmar Foreign Minister U Nyan Win
Nyan Win
Nyan Win is the Chief Minister of Bago Region. He won a Regional Hluttaw seat in an uncontested election in 2010, representing Zigon Township, and was appointed Chief Minister of the region on 30 March 2011. Prior to his election, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, having been...
, and said that he wants to improve relations and seek strong commercial ties with Myanmar.
On 5 August 2009, he attended the funeral of the late former president of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
. He was the only foreign head of state to attend.
On 29 September 2009, he delivered the prestigious Legatum Pericles Lecture at the Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
.
On 30 June 2010, he attended the inauguration
Inauguration
An inauguration is a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of a leader's term of office. An example is the ceremony in which the President of the United States officially takes the oath of office....
of Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III , also known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a Filipino politician who has been the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010....
, the 15th President of the Philippines. He is the only head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
who attended the inauguration and the first dignitary to arrive in the Philippines for the inauguration. He is a close friend of the Aquino family.
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 IsaacOscar Isaac
-Personal life:Isaac was born in Guatemala to a Guatemalan mother, Maria Estrada Nicolle, and a Cuban pulmonologist father, Oscar Gonzalo Hernandez. He was raised in Miami, Florida. While in Miami, he played lead guitar and sang vocals for his band "The Blinking Underdogs"...
in the 2009 film Balibo
Balibo (2009 film)
Balibo is a 2009 Australian feature film that follows the story of the Balibo Five, a group of journalists who were captured and killed whilst reporting on activities just prior to the Indonesian invasion of East Timor in 1975. The film is loosely based on the book Cover-Up, by Jill Jolliffe, an...
. The film tells the story of the Balibo Five
Balibo Five
The Balibo Five was a group of journalists for Australian television networks based in the town of Balibo in East Timor where they were killed on 16 October 1975 during Indonesian incursions prior to the invasion....
and the events preceding the Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesian occupation of East Timor
Indonesia occupied East Timor from December 1975 to October 1999. After centuries of Portuguese colonial rule in East Timor, a 1974 coup in Portugal led to decolonization among its former colonies, creating instability in East Timor and leaving its future uncertain...
.
External links
- Ramos-Horta's website
- Nobel Prize biography
- Who will be the next UN Secretary General?
- Australian television interview transcript (2004)
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