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Ferdinand Marcos (1917-89)Philippine president. Born on 11 September in Sarrat to a well-connected family, he graduated from the law school of the University of the Philippines. Before then, in 1939, he successfully defended himself against the charge of having killed a personal enemy of his father. He became an intelligence officer for the US Army during the Japanese invasion of World War II, and survived the notorious Bataan prison camp. During the postwar independence era, Marcos became a right-wing member of parliament and, in 1963, leader of the Senate. His anti-Communist rhetoric appealed to the Americans. He was elected president on 30 December 1965 and, in 1969 became the first Philippine president to be re-elected. His initial popularity, due to his government's educational and agricultural reforms, waned as he used increasing force against his opponents. In 1972, he declared martial law in a coup that dissolved democratic political institutions and abolished human rights. Now representing only the country's wealthy élite, whose corruption was symbolised by the huge number of pairs of shoes owned by his wife Imelda, President Marcos used foreign aid funds to support his rule. With resistance from the Communist New People's Army and the Muslim Moro National Liberation Front, his methods became increasingly brutal. However, as the country's economy declined, he had to abandon martial law in 1981 and introduce democratic reforms. When opposition leader Benigno Aquino was assassinated at Manila airport in August 1983, there was a public outcry. In the 1986 election – which Marcos hoped would restore his legitimacy – he was outmanoeuvred by Corazon Aquino, the murdered leader's widow, and her People Power movement. Marcos was unable to continue in government when the army withdrew its support. He fled to Hawaii, where he died on 28 September 1989. |
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