His Excellency José Ramos-Horta is the incumbent President of Timor-Leste, having served in this role since May 2022. Before Timor-Leste’s independence from Indonesia, Ramos-Horta was a leading spokesperson from exile for the resistance movement. For 20 years, he traveled internationally to promote the cause of the East Timorese people, including in the United Nations. In 1996, he was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Bishop Carlos Belo, in recognition of their non-violent efforts, and for achieving a “just and peaceful solution” to the decades-long conflict. He served as the country’s third prime minister (2006-2007), the fourth president (2007-2012), and re-emerged from retirement to win a landslide election victory to become the seventh president since May 2023. Timor-Leste is a country of more than one million people who communicate in 30 indigenous languages.