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This was the question put to Jose Ramos-Horta, president of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, by a high-school student.

"For me, there is no greater quality required for a leader than compassion. A leader has to have a heart of gold. If a leader has the qualities of dignity, professionalism and efficiency, but doesn't have compassion, sooner or later he will come down. He will fall," Horta explained.

This probably explains why he shook hands with the person who tried to assassinate him last February. Though he did not tell officials about this at the moment, he said he hoped the person would have confessed.

Now, however, what drives this former freedom fighter is the sense of justice and loyalty to his motherland.

Horta, armed with his overseas education, spearheaded the fight for East Timor's independence for decades and became a Nobel Peace laureate in 1996. He was the first prime minister of Timor-Leste and became the second president of the seven-year-old country in 2007.

When he was asked which governmental or economic model he wanted Timor to follow, he said Singapore was inspiring because it rose out of nothing to become an economic super power. Meanwhile, Dubai has used its own natural resources to create a "wonder", he said.

He also praised Cuba's healthcare system and how Costa Rica managed to keep itself safe without needing an army. Nevertheless, Horta said his country would develop a model that worked in its own reality.

Horta, in Thailand for an official visit, was speaking to 200 Year 12 and 13 students at the New International School of Thailand in Bangkok on Tuesday. He also delivered a special lecture at Ramkhamhaeng University after receiving an honorary doctorate in political science and was granted an audience with His Majesty the King the next day.

Students at the international school often burst into laughter as Horta told them about his country, his life and his experiences and answered their questions. He advised them to not expect anybody but themselves to be perfect. He also reminded them to learn to serve others.

"We are who we are. We succeed, we fail. It depends on each of us, on our dreams and our determination to realise our dreams," he said. "My advice is study, study and study, not to be good, not to be better, but to be the best. Set your goals at the highest."

He also called for people to understand each other. "The conflicts we see around the world often happen because of ignorance."

Horta, a former journalist, also said the Western media's arrogance and failure to find the truth about other countries caused problems. The lecture was the latest in the "Bridges: Dialogues Toward a Culture of Peace" series, hosted by the International Peace Foundation.

The event came to an end with some 30 or so students and teachers being given the opportunity to have lunch with the president. Before leaving, Horta walked around and shook hands with them all.

The students were delighted and eager to talk about the leader and the lessons he taught them.

"He has knowledge of everything rather than just economic and politics," Udit Mohta said, adding that Horta knew his priorities and was very focused.

Pallavi Bhatt said Horta talked to her about Timor's geography, while her friends, Steffi Chang, Nicholas Monahan and Sagnik Roy said he also spoke about the Academy Awards and tennis.

All the students said they were very impressed by Horta's straight-forwardness and admired him for his diplomatic way of getting his point across without being torn by pressure from influential nations.

"Being straight means you are not hiding anything," a student said.

"Honestly he is a person that you want to sit down and talk with," Chang said. Despite complaining that the 45-minute luncheon was far too short, she declared with a big grin that "he was someone you want running a country".