José Ramos-Horta was born in Dili, East Timor, when the Pacific island territory was still a colony of Portugal. For years, he worked to achieve his country's independence and was forced into exile for two years. No sooner had East Timor become independent in 1975, when neighboring Indonesia attacked the country. Ramos-Horta, who served as Minister of External Relations and Information for the first provisional government, was forced into exile again. More than 200,000 people died in the invasion and subsequent occupation. Four of Ramos-Horta's brothers and sisters were killed by the Indonesian military. It is estimated that over the next 20 years, a third of the country's population lost their lives to starvation, epidemics, war and terror. For the first decade of his exile, Ramos-Horta continued to represent his country as the independence movement's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In 1996 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless pursuit of a just and peaceful solution to the conflict. In 1999 Indonesia at last agreed to a referendum on East Timor's future, and the Timorese people overwhelmingly voted for independence. In May 2002, East Timor completed its long-delayed transition to independence. This podcast was recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 2002 Summit in Dublin, Ireland, while Jose Ramos-Horta was serving as his country's first Foreign Minister. He discusses the challenges of independence, and his hope and fears for his country's future. In 2007, José Ramos-Horta was elected President of East Timor.