 He is a co-recipient of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize along with Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, for working "towards a just and peaceful solution to the conflict in East Timor".As a founder and former member of Fretilin, Ramos-Horta served as the exiled spokesman for the East Timorese resistance during the years of the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975–1999).While he continued to work with Fretilin, Ramos-Horta resigned from the party in 1988, becoming an independent politician.