The Nobel Peace Prize José Ramos-Horta analyzed at IE the new challenges for democracy in the 21st century

José Ramos-Horta, ex-president of Timor-Leste and Nobel Peace Prize, participated yesterday in a conference organized by IE and the Club de Madrid in Madrid, where they analyzed the main challenges for democracies around the world. The conversation took place in the Paper Pavilion of IE’s Madrid Campus; Rubén Campos, coordinator of programs at Club de Madrid, and Professor Daniel Kselman, academic director of the IE School of International Relations, participated as moderators in this conversation.

Before traveling to Bogota, where he will participate in the Global Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, José Ramos-Horta shared his opinions about some of the new challenges for democracy and peace in Asia and globally.

Ramos-Horta, member of the Club de Madrid, was key in the peaceful independence of Timor-Leste, and its later transition into democracy. After his experience in government, first as Minister of Foreign Affairs and later as President (2007-2010), he has always been on the front lines of the fight for human rights, diversity and peace in his country, as well as in the global arena.

Moreover, he has a well-deserved reputation as an expert in peace missions, an area that has been at the forefront of his work in the past years. In fact, he was chosen by Ban Ki Moon to lead the High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations in 2015, in 2013 he had already been the UN Special Envoy and Chief to the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Guinea Bissau.

The Club de Madrid is the biggest forum for democratically elected political leaders and experts dedicated to analyze the challenges of democratic transitions. More than one hundred democratically elected ex-Presidents and Prime Ministers from sixty-eight countries belong to this respected club of leaders.