“IN VICTORY BE MAGNANIMOUS, NEVER SEEK TO HUMILIATE THE ADVERSARY; IF HE IS ON HIS KNEES HOLD HIS HANDS, PLEAD WITH HIM TO RISE UP. WALK HALFWAY AND MEET THE VANQUISHED ONES; EMBRACE THEM, INVITE THEM TO JOIN IN A NEW ENTERPRISE OF PEACE, A NEW FUTURE FOR ALL. THIS HAS BEEN MY BELIEF AND IN MANY WAYS THIS HAS BEEN OUR PRACTICE SINCE INDEPENDENCE.”
JOSÉ RAMOS-HORTA
On 21 April, 2022, in a landslide election victory, Dr. José Ramos-Horta was elected President of Timor-Leste for a second term. He had previously served as Senior Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs (2002 – 2006), Prime Minister (2006 – 2007), and President (2007-2012). Dr. Ramos-Horta was sworn into office on May 19 and assumed office on 20 May, 2022, the 20th anniversary of Timor-Leste’s restoration of independence.
A founding father of the first new democracy of the millennium.
In exile for 24 years, he was the lone voice of his people, the people of Timor-Leste (East Timor) as they suffered one of the most brutal occupations of the last century. After leading his country to independence, he served as the President of the century’s newest democracy.
Features:
Third Women in Business Awards Open for Nominations to Honor Trailblazing Women-Led Businesses in Timor-Leste
Women entrepreneurs who are creating jobs, transforming industries, and inspiring the next generation of business leaders across Timor-Leste will once again take the spotlight, as nominations open today for the Third Timor-Leste Women in Business Awards, held under...
Press Statement By President J. Ramos-Horta on the Passing of Activist John M. Miller
PRESS STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT J. RAMOS-HORTA ON THE PASSING OF ACTIVIST JOHN M. MILLER It is with profound sadness that I learned of the passing of my dear friend, John M. Miller. John Miller was a lifelong human rights and solidarity activist from the...
East Timor: Ramos-Horta to decide on re-election after consulting Xanana Gusmão
East Timor is set to hold presidential elections next year The president of East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, said today that he will consult Prime Minister Xanana Gusmãobefore deciding whether to run for re-election. Ramos-Horta stressed that any presidential candidate...
President Ramos-Horta: Speech at the XIII Global Baku Forum
H.E. Jose Ramos-Horta, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, delivered remarks at the XIII Global Baku Forum, held on 12-14 March 2026 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Organized by the Nizami Ganjavi International Center under the patronage of the President of...
Q&A: East Timor’s President Ramos-Horta on diplomacy, Gaza, and the West
Dili, East Timor – On the 50th anniversary of Indonesia’s invasion of East Timor, longtime independence advocate and now the country’s President Jose Ramos-Horta reflected on the last half-century of politics and diplomacy in his country. Ramos-Horta was...
Pope Receives East Timor President Ramos-Horta at the Vatican
On November 21, 2025, Pope Leo XIV received the President of the Democratic Republic of East Timor, Mr. José Manuel Ramos-Horta, in a private audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. Following his meeting with the Holy Father, President Ramos-Horta met with the...
Ramos-Horta says personal diplomacy could bring Myanmar ceasefire
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The president of East Timor told The Associated Press on Monday that he would be willing to intercede personally to try and break the impasse in the region’s most challenging problem — Myanmar’s raging civil war, one day after his country...
Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos Horta on Israel and Timor’s future | The Pacific | ABC News
Just over 20 years ago, Timor-Leste became the world’s newest nation. President Jose Ramos-Horta discusses the future of his country and more.
President Ramos-Horta Calls for Immediate Action to Stop the Genocide in Gaza.
"I am the President of Timor-Leste. And I am prepared to take any consequences for my 'audacity.' This is not audacity at all, this is a cry of desperation."
News: Articles, Speeches, Videos
Straits Times: Timor-Leste to be granted full Asean membership in October
KUALA LUMPUR – Timor-Leste will become Asean’s 11th member state, with full membership to be granted at the next regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur later in 2025. Announcing this at a press conference on May 27, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim – whose...
President’s Message for International Women’s Day
March 8th, 2025 Dear Citizens of Timor-Leste and Friends Around the World, On this International Women’s Day, I extend my warmest greetings to all women and girls in Timor-Leste and across the globe as we unite under the international theme, “For ALL Women and Girls:...
Global Insecurity: UN has failed the world, says Ramos-Horta
(MSN) President of Timor-Leste and Nobel laureate, José Ramos-Horta, has called for a rethink of governance and leadership structures in Nigeria, emphasizing the need for policies that prioritize national interests over external influences. He noted that Nigeria, as a...
Ramos-Horta Speech: Nigeria and politics as interest
As we honour Professor Babafemi Badejo today, let us draw from his ideas, thoughts, and impacts in scholarship and his dedication to good governance and development. Nigeria’s history is one of resilience, one also of a history shaped by competing interests — of...
President Ramos-Horta Addresses Zayed Human Fraternity Prize Summit
Abu Dhabi, February 3, 2025 The President and Nobel Peace Laureate J. Ramos-Horta, delivered a keynote speech today at the opening of the Zayed Prize for Human Fraternity Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event, hosted by Judge Mohamed Abdelsalam,...
Ramos-Horta at Estoril: Leading a Nation Toward Lasting Peace
Estoril Conferences is an international platform held in Cascais, Portugal, since 2009. It has been attended by Nobel Prize laureates and current and former heads of state. The events provide a platform to promote open dialogue on global challenges. On October 24,...
East Asia Forum: Timor-Leste hits the democratic reset button
In Timor-Leste, incumbent president Francisco ‘Lu-Olo’ Guterres and the Fretilin party were defeated in both the 2022 presidential and 2023 parliamentary elections, marking a return to the conventions established during the state's independence. The election results...
Pope Francis meets with President of Timor-Leste
Pope Francis met on Monday with East Timorese president José Manuel Ramos-Horta in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. Following the papal audience, President Ramos-Horta met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the...
India PM Modi Pholds bilateral meeting with President of Timor-Leste
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the President of Timor-Leste in Gandhinagar on Jan 09. He held a bilateral meeting with José Ramos-Horta on the sidelines of 10th Vibrant Gujarat Summit. PM Modi will inaugurate the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 at Mahatma Mandir,...
Ramos-Horta: I never asked Kissinger to apologize for Indonesian invasion
Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta said Friday that he bore no anger towards Henry Kissinger, the former U.S. secretary of state who died this week and had helped greenlight Indonesia’s December 1975 invasion of the former Portuguese colony. But Virgílio da Silva...
Ramos-Horta at UN General Assembly, September, 2023
JOSÉ RAMOS-HORTA, President of Timor-Leste, spotlighting that his country is a young, imperfect and vibrant democracy, “an oasis of peace, tolerance and freedom”, said that, since its independence in 2002, the democracy is “alive and dynamic”. Noting that Timor-Leste...
Speech to Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity
1st June 2023 Speech By J. Ramos-Horta Nobel Peace Laureate President of Timor-Leste Your Excellencies Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, The Hon. OH Young Hun, Excellencies, Distinguished, Esteemed Delegates I’m thankful for the kind invitation...
IMAGES OF TIMOR-LESTE
Timor-Leste in
pictures
See his home through his eyes; the island that was once the scene of mass executions, torture centers and atrocities, enjoying the dividends of peace today.
INTERNATIONAL PEACE BUILDING
Taking peace building to the world.
Through high level missions for the UN Secretary General and other international peace building and diplomatic efforts, Ramos-Horta shares the wisdom of experience to make a better world.