A founder and former member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (FRETILIN), he served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation (1975 to 1999). He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his work towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor before becoming President between 2007 and 2012. Since then, he has remained extremely active in promoting peace, through the Asian Peace and Reconciliation Council which he co-founded. Headquartered in Bangkok, the APRC is led by a group of former Heads of state and government representatives whose goal is to help promote peace and reconciliation in Asia, with three main areas of focus: the tensions in the South China Seas; the continued dialogue in Burma and Afghanistan after the departure of the US military.

Emerging Times Dinners: The Emerging Times dinners aim to shed light on the paradigm shift underway as the nations formerly considered as the periphery have now become the center. To discuss this ongoing process, the Emerging Times dinners will bring together the rising stars of the countries that we still inadequately refer to as "emerging" to address current issues from different perspectives. The first edition of the Emerging Times Dinners will be held on January 23 in Davos during the 2013 World Economic Forum.