In
2007, José Manuel Ramos Horta became the 2nd President of East Timor since it
gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. Living in exile as a University professor
in Australia during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor from 1975 to 1999,
Ramos Horta acted as the spokesperson for the East Timorese resistance. He brought
the plight of the East Timorese people to the international community's attention
and spoke out against human rights violations committed by the occupying Indonesian
military forces as well as promoting a peace plan that sought to end the violence
in his country. He and Bishop Carlos F.X. Belo received the 1996 Nobel Prize for
Peace for their efforts to bring peace and independence to East Timor. José Manuel
Ramos Horta gave his award and his portion of the million dollar prize to a program
providing microcredit to the poor. In 1999, with Indonesia's occupation over,
the United Nations created a UN Transition Administration in East Timor and Ramos
Horta was finally able to return to his country. He continued to advocate for
forgiveness and reconciliation as the way to heal the new country and was appointed
as East Timor's foreign minister in 2000. He continued this position after East
Timor gained its independence in 2002, becoming the new country's first Foreign
Minister, until 2006 when he became the Prime Minister. In May 2007 he was elected
as the nation's President, receiving 70% of the votes.
