Since Indonesia's invasion of East Timor 30 years ago, Nobel laureate José Ramos-Horta has been the leading international spokesman for East Timor's bid for independence. Favoring the creation of a "strong democratic state," Ramos-Horta said, "East Timor is at the crossroads of three major cultures (Melanesian, Malay-Polynesian and Latin Catholic). This rich historical and cultural existence places us in a unique position to build bridges of dialogue and cooperation between the people of the region."

Ramos-Horta was born in Dili, East Timor's capital, and educated in a Catholic mission
in the village of Soibada. He studied Public International Law at The Hague Academy of International Law, attended the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, and completed a Masters in peace Studies at Antioch university in 1984. He is a Fellow of International Relations, St. Anthony's College, Oxford.

A radio and television journalist from 1969 until 1974, Ramos-Horta was appointed Minister of External Affairs and Information in the first Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of East Timor. He was selected to represent East Timor overseas, and left three days before Indonesian troops invaded in November 1975. The conflict has taken a personal toll on Ramos-Horta: Four of his eleven brothers were killed by the Indonesian military and Ramos-Horta himself was exiled to Mozambique by the Portuguese for his pro-independence activities. Ramos-Horta promoted talks with Indonesia, however, believing that a committed effort from all sides would be needed
to succeed in bringing peace to East Timor.

Ramos-Horta was the permanent representative of FREITLIN (Revolutionary Front for
an Independent East Timor) at the United Nations from 1976 until 1989 and has been
a tireless advocate for a free and independent East Timor, addressing governments,
the media and international fora including the UN Security Council, the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation, the UN Commission on human Rights, the Council on Foreign Relations and the European Parliament.

As an advocate of human rights, he established and directs the Diplomacy Training Program in the law faculty at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. He is also Special Representative of the National Council of Maubere Resistance of East Timor, a non-partisan group comprised of all East Timorese nationalist political forces and resistance groups, and Coordinator of the East Timorese Resistance Diplomatic Front Coordinating Commission.

Ramos-Horta has been publicly honored for his efforts in human rights, receiving the Professor Thorolf Rafto 1993 Human Rights Prize, the Gleitzman Foundation Award in 1995 and the UNPO Award in 1996. In 1996, Ramos-Horta also shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, honoring their "sustained and self-sacrificing contributions for a small but oppressed people."


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