Dr Jose Ramos-Horta

Recent Speaker

President of Timor-Leste

June 23, 2010

"Timor-Leste: Peace and prosperity after the storm"

MORNING TEA EVENT JUST $20 PER PERSON 10 - 11AM 

José Ramos-Horta is the 4th President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste since the country’s unilateral proclamation of independence from Portugal in 1975 and the 2nd since the restoration of the independence from Indonesia in 2002, after 24 years of occupation (1975-1999). He was Prime Minister and Minister of Defense between July 2006 and May 2007, and Foreign Affairs Minister from 2002 to 2006. He is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Dr. Ramos-Horta’s priorities are to ensure that his people enjoy peace and security in a strong, prosperous, proud and democratic country. He is dedicated to eradicating poverty in his country through improved public health and education, and through provision of an environment where business can thrive to providing employment for his people.


At the same time he has been working towards the normalisation of relations with Indonesia, developing relations with neighbours, and being an active participant of – but not uncritically - the United Nations system. He advocates UN reform at many levels, from its bloated bureaucracy to a new Human Rights Council truly representing human rights values.