Ramos-Horta, José (1949-…), became the president of East Timor in 2022. He also served as interim (temporary) prime minister of East Timor from 2006 to 2007 and as president from 2007 to 2012. Ramos-Horta had been a leading activist for East Timorese independence throughout the late 1900’s. In 1996, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, an East Timorese Roman Catholic bishop, for their efforts in promoting the cause of the people of East Timor.
Early life and education.
Ramos-Horta was born on Dec. 26, 1949, in Dili, East Timor. East Timor, also called Timor-Leste, occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, which lies at the end of a string of islands that make up part of Indonesia. Prior to 1975, East Timor was a Portuguese colony. Ramos-Horta was born to an East Timorese mother and a Portuguese father who had been deported from Portugal for political reasons.
As a child, Ramos-Horta attended a Roman Catholic mission school in the village of Soibada. He completed high school in Dili. Ramos-Horta later studied at a number of schools in Europe and the United States. In 1984, he received a Master of Arts degree from Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Later in his life, he taught at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, where he ran a training course for diplomats.
Activism and political career.
As a young man, Ramos-Horta opposed the Portuguese colonial administration of East Timor. As a result, he was deported to Mozambique, then also a Portuguese colony, in 1970. After returning, Ramos-Horta helped found FRETILIN, the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor, in 1974.
In 1975, FRETILIN fought a three-week civil war against a more conservative, Indonesia-backed party called the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT). FRETILIN won the war, and on Nov. 28, 1975, it declared East Timor an independent nation. Ramos-Horta was foreign minister in its first government.
On Dec. 7, 1975, Indonesian troops invaded East Timor. The United Nations (UN) did not recognize Indonesian authority in East Timor and called on Indonesia to withdraw. Indonesia refused, however, and it occupied East Timor for the next 24 years. During this time, Ramos-Horta became recognized as the main international spokesman for East Timor’s independence.
In 1990, Ramos-Horta became the special representative of the National Council of Maubere Resistance, later called the National Council of Timorese Resistance (CNRT). The council was a coalition of Timorese independence organizations. In 1998, Ramos-Horta became vice president of CNRT. Indonesia ended its claim to East Timor in 1999, after an overwhelming majority of East Timorese voted for independence in a UN-sponsored referendum.
After the 1999 referendum, the UN administered East Timor until 2002. During that time, Ramos-Horta was a member of the National Council that advised the UN administrator. When the UN administration ended, Ramos-Horta again became foreign minister of East Timor.
In March 2006, a dispute within East Timor’s army led to a violent uprising. Major Alfredo Reinado became the leader of a group of rebel soldiers. Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri resigned in June, and Ramos-Horta became interim prime minister in July. In May 2007, voters elected Ramos-Horta president.
On Feb. 11, 2008, rebel soldiers carried out separate attacks against President Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão. Gusmão was not harmed, but Ramos-Horta was shot twice and narrowly escaped death. Reinado, who led the attack on Ramos-Horta, was killed. Ramos-Horta received medical treatment in Australia and returned to East Timor in April to resume his presidential duties. In 2012, he made an unsuccessful bid for a second presidential term. Taur Matan Ruak, a former guerrilla fighter, won the 2012 election.
Francisco Guterres, also a former guerrilla fighter, was elected to the presidency in 2017. In 2022, Ramos-Horta defeated Guterres in a run-off election and again became the president of East Timor.
