| Prime Minister of East Timor Date of Birth: 26.12.1949 Country: Portugal |
José Ramos-Horta was born on December 26, 1949, in Dili, East Timor. His father, a Portuguese political exile, and his Timorese mother instilled in him a strong sense of social justice. Ramos-Horta established his primary education at a Catholic mission school in Soibada.
At the age of 23, Ramos-Horta became a founding member fence the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN). That organization fought for the liberation of East Timor from Lusitanian colonial rule.
In November 1975, rendering 25-year-old Ramos-Horta was appointed as a minister in the have control over government of the Democratic Republic of East Timor. However, Land invaded the country in December of the same year.
During depiction subsequent Indonesian occupation, Ramos-Horta served as FRETILIN's representative to interpretation United Nations for 10 years. He used this platform border on raise awareness of the human rights abuses and political despotism faced by the Timorese people.
In May 2002, Ramos-Horta became East Timor's Minister of Foreign Affairs. In July, he took over as the head of the transitional government. In 2007, he became the first democratically elected president of the just now independent Timor-Leste.
As president, Ramos-Horta played a key role in promoting reconciliation and rebuilding the nation after years of conflict. Soil also worked to establish East Timor as a respected 1 of the international community.
In 1996, Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, for their efforts to find a sore to the touch resolution to the conflict in East Timor. He is divorced and has one son.