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H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta
H.E. Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta is a 1996 Nobel
Peace Prize Laureate, the President of Timor-Leste and a Patron of the
International Peace Foundation.
Jose Ramos-Horta was born in Dili, Timor-Leste, on December
26, 1949. He is one of 11 brothers and sisters. He is divorced and has one son.
He began his early education as a child in a Catholic mission in the small
village of Soibada and then went to further studies in Dili at the Portuguese
Lyceum. Later he studied journalism and was trained as a photographer and TV
cameraman. He worked in print media as well as radio and TV from 1969 to 1974.
He holds an MA in Peace Studies from Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio
(1984) and is still working on a Ph.D. with Universidade do Minho, Braga. He was
a Senior Member in International Relations with St. Antony’s College, Oxford, in
1987 and studied Human Rights Law and Public International Law at the Strasbourg
International Institute of Human Rights and the Hague Academy of International
Law, respectively.
Dr. Ramos-Horta has been awarded honorary doctorate degrees
by numerous universities in Australia, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, the
Republic of Korea, Portugal, Brazil and the US.
He is the Founder and for years Executive Director and
lecturer with the Diplomacy Training Program of the University of New South
Wales where he is also a Visiting Professor. Dr. Ramos-Horta is also a Professor
of International Relations with Ewha Women’s University in Seoul. He has
lectured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Portugal, France,
Germany and the US.
Besides Tetum and Portuguese, his two mother tongues, he is
fluent in English, French and Spanish.
In 1996 Dr. Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
with Bishop Carlos Belo, the religious leader of East Timor, "to honor their
sustained and self-sacrificing contributions for a small but oppressed people",
hoping that "this award will spur efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the
conflict of East Timor based on the people's right to self-determination".
In 1999 a referendum was held on the status of East
Timor, and the referendum results showed more than 80% favoring independence.
After the entry of a UN peace-keeping force Dr. Ramos-Horta returned to his
homeland to help rebuild the country. Working closely with the UN and Sergio
Vierra de Mello, the head of the UN Administration in East Timor until 2002, he
helped to bring about peaceful elections of the country's President and
Parliament, who in turn drafted the country's constitution.
Dr. Ramos-Horta was appointed as the
country's first
Foreign Minister in
2001 and served in this position until his resignation on
June 25,
2006, amidst
political turmoil.
On June 26, 2006, following the resignation of Prime Minister
Mari Alkatiri,
Dr. Ramos-Horta was appointed acting Prime Minister by the
President,
Xanana Gusmão.
Two weeks later, on July 10, 2006, he was officially sworn in as the second
Prime Minister of Timor-Leste.
In May 2007 Dr. Jose Ramos-Horta was
elected President of Timor-Leste, winning nearly 70 percent of the votes,
a post he has held since. On February 11,
2008,
he was seriously injured after being shot by rebels outside his home in Dili.
Dr. Ramos-Horta is Timor-Leste’s most popular leader with
83% approval rate in a survey conducted by the International Republican
Institute in late 2008. He has been credited as having been the most credible
and effective bridge-builder in Timor-Leste and with having contributed most to
heal the wounds and stabilize the situation in the country following the crisis
in 2006.
Topic: Building a culture of peace and development
in a globalized world
Schedule:
Wednesday, April 21, 2010:
12:00 Luncheon hosted at the University of Cambodia
14:00 Keynote speech and dialogue at the University of
Cambodia followed by a reception
19:00 Dinner hosted by the
University of Cambodia at Cambodiana Hotel
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