Jose Ramos-Horta

Jose Ramos-Horta

President of East Timor 2007-2012; Prime Minister, Minister of Defence 2006-2007

Date of birth:

Born 26 December 1949

Professional and political experience:

Current positions:

  • Senior Minister, National Security Advisor, National Security Council, Office of the Prime Minister, TIMOR-Leste, (2017 - );
  • Member, High Level Board on Mediation, established by the UN Secretary-General (2017-2019); 
  • External Advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly, 2017-2018;
  • Commissioner, International Commission on Refugee Policy, chaired by Hon. Kofi Annan, Geneva (2017- ).
  • Vice-President, Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council (APRC), (2012 - ) APRC, Bangkok, comprising former Heads of State and Govt and Ministers from Asia working on mediation. 

Recent past positions: 

  • President of the Republic (2007 - 2012) 
  • Prime Minister, Minister of Defence (2006-2007)
  • Senior Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (2002-2006)
  • Cabinet Member, United Nations Transition Administration for East Timor - UNTAET (2000-2002)
  • Minister for Foreign Affairs and Information, in the first Govt proclaimed in December 1975 following Timor-Leste's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, and Representative, Spokesperson, for the Resistance (1975-1999);
  • Chair, High Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations, appointed by Secretary-General Ban Kie-moon (November 2014 - 2016);
  • Co-Chair, Independent Commission on Multilateralism, International Peace Institute, New York (2014-2016), chaired by former PM of Australia Hon. Kevin Rudd; 
  • Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the UN Integrated Peace Building Mission in Guinea-Bissau (Jan 2013- June 2014). 

Credit: photo by Peter Badge