José Manuel Ramos-Horta GCL GColIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒuˈzɛ ˈʁɐ̃muz ˈɔɾtɐ]; born 26 December 1949)[1][2] is an East Timorese politician.

Both father (Francisco Horta) and maternal grandfather (Arsénio José Filipe) were deported to Timor by Portuguese authorities.

[8] Ramos-Horta is divorced from Ana Pessoa Pinto, East Timor's Minister for State and Internal Administration, with whom he has a son, Loro Horta, who was born in exile in Mozambique.

A moderate in the emerging Timorese nationalist leadership, Ramos-Horta was appointed Foreign Minister in the "Democratic Republic of East Timor" government proclaimed by the pro-independence parties in November 1975.

Three days before the Indonesian troops invaded, Ramos-Horta left East Timor to plead the Timorese case before the UN.

Ramos-Horta arrived in New York to address the UN Security Council and urge them to take action in the face of the Indonesian occupation during which an estimated 102,000 East Timorese would die.

In May 1994, Philippine President Fidel Ramos (no relation), bowing to pressure from Jakarta, tried to ban an international conference on East Timor in Manila and blacklisted Ramos-Horta, with the Thai government following suit later that year by declaring him persona non grata.

[11] In December 1996, Ramos-Horta shared the Nobel Peace Prize with fellow Timorese Bishop Ximenes Belo.

On The InnerView, Ramos-Horta said that he utilizes the Nobel Peace Prize as a vehicle to advocate on behalf of his country, as well as for the Palestinians and the people of Myanmar.

He led the Timorese delegation at an important joint workshop with UNTAET on 1 March 2000 to tease out a new strategy, and identify institutional needs.

The outcome was an agreed blueprint for a joint administration with executive powers, including leaders of the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction (CNRT).

[15] On 12 July 2000, the NCC adopted a regulation establishing a Transitional Cabinet composed of four East Timorese and four UNTAET representatives.

[16] The revamped joint administration successfully laid the institutional foundations for independence, and on 27 September 2002, East Timor joined the United Nations.

Before his appointment as prime minister, Ramos-Horta was considered a possible candidate to succeed Kofi Annan as United Nations Secretary-General.

[23] He dropped out of the race in order to serve as East Timor's Prime Minister, but he has indicated that he might run for the UN position at some time in the future: "I can wait five years if I am really interested in the job in 2012.

[26] In an interview with Global South Development Magazine, Ramos-Horta revealed that Mahatma Gandhi was his greatest hero.

[28] The full results of the runoff elections were made public by East Timor's National Electoral Committee spokeswoman, Maria Angelina Sarmento, on 11 May, and Ramos-Horta won with 69.18% of the vote.

[39] Ramos-Horta was released from the Royal Darwin Hospital on 19 March, although he said that he would stay in Australia for physical therapy for "a few more weeks".

[47] In addition, he stated his intention on working with the government to address supply chain issues from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This achievement represents another milestone in Timor-Leste’s tremendous work to build and strengthen its robust, vibrant democracy over its nearly 20-year history as an independent nation.

[57] In May 2009 Ramos-Horta stated that he would ask the International Criminal Court to investigate the ruling junta of Myanmar if they continue to detain fellow Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

[58] Ramos-Horta suggested that Suu Kyi’s inability to express her frustration with the treatment of Rohingya Muslims was due to the fact that she lacked the political power to effect change.

[59] In 2006, Ramos-Horta pledged his support for the International Simultaneous Policy (SIMPOL) which seeks to end the usual deadlock in tackling global issues.

[citation needed] Ramos-Horta is a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law.

[63] The Roman Catholic bishop Ximenes Belo of East Timor and Ramos-Horta were jointly awarded the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts.