José Ramos-Horta is the current reelected President of Timor-Leste, who dedicated his adult life to the fight for the independence of his country. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense, Prime Minister, Minister of State and Counsellor for National Security of the newly independent Timor-Leste, before being elected President in 2007.

Due to his efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict of Timor-Leste based on the people’s rights to self-determination, he was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996. He also served as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea-Bissau (UNIOGBIS), chaired the High-Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations, and co-chaired the International Commission on Multilateralism (UN Reform).

Ramos-Horta studied Public International Law and holds a MA in Peace Studies.

He joined the Global Commission on Drug Policy in 2017.