13th D T Lakdawala memorial lecture on “Asia’s Rise or Fall: Challenges and Opportunities in the XXI century”

The former President of Timor-Leste (2007 to 2012) and Nobel Laureate Dr. José Ramos-Horta is the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS). In 1996 Dr. Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Belo of Timor-Leste. Dr. Ramos-Horta brings with him more than three decades of diplomatic and political career in the service of peace and stability in Timor-Leste and beyond.

Dr. Ramos-Horta has served as his country’s Foreign Minister and as Prime Minister. After Timor-Leste achieved independence in 2002, Ramos-Horta was appointed as the country’s first foreign minister. He served in this position until his resignation on 25 June 2006.

On 26 June, following the resignation of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri, Dr. Ramos-Horta was appointed acting Prime Minister by then President, Xanana Gusmão. Two weeks later, on 10 July 2006, he was sworn in as the second Prime Minister of Timor-Leste. On 11 February 2008, Dr. Ramos-Horta was injured when he was shot during an assassination attempt but recovered and resumed his role as President.

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. He has lectured extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Portugal, France, Germany and the US.

Dr. Ramos-Horta has been very active on international peace initiatives. He is the author of several books and other writings and he is fluent in five languages. Besides Tetum and Portuguese, his two mother tongues, he is fluent in English, French and Spanish.