Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines, 1965-1986
Ferdinand Marcos
President                 of the Philippines
Ferdinand Edralin Marcos was                 born in Sarrat, on the island of Luzon, on                 September 11, 1917. Both of his parents were                 teachers who came from politically important                 families.
Marcos was an honor law student                 in 1935 when he shot and killed Julio Nalundasan,                 a political opponent of his father. He was not                 arrested until three years later, however, and                 was then allowed to continue his law studies                 while awaiting trial. One year after his arrest                 he was found guilty of murder. While serving his                 prison sentence, Marcos painstakingly wrote an                 appeal for a new trial. The Philippine Supreme                 Court took up his appeal in 1940, and the chief                 judge almost immediately threw out the original                 case. Now a free man, Marcos returned to the                 Supreme Court the day after his release and                 received his law license from the same judge who                 had freed him.
According to his own biography,                 Marcos fought against Japanese occupation during World War II ,                 and also served in the U.S. Army with                 distinction. The extent of his involvement in the                 resistance movement, as well as his service in                 the army, has long been in dispute, however, and                 now appears to have been greatly exaggerated.
In late 1948, a magazine editor                 published a series of articles on Marcos' war                 experiences, and his reputation amongst the                 people began to grow quickly. In 1949 he ran as a                 Liberal Party candidate for a seat in the House                 of Representatives. Campaigning on a promise to                 get millions of dollars worth of benefits for                 Philippine veterans, he won the election with 70                 percent of the vote. He was subsequently                 re-elected twice, and was then elected to the                 Senate, in 1959.
In 1954, Marcos married Imelda                 Romualdez, a former beauty queen and daughter of                 a politically important family. As a couple, the                 Marcoses would become the most well-known, and                 the most notorious, of all Philippine                 politicians.
In 1961, Marcos successfully                 managed the presidential campaign of Diosdado                 Macapagal, who was supposed to step aside in                 Marcos' favor after one term in office. When                 Macapagal failed to fulfill his side of the                 bargain, Marcos joined the opposition Nationalist                 Party and became its presidential candidate in                 1965. He won the election easily.
During his first term in                 office, Marcos initiated a massive series of                 public works projects, including highways, civic                 centers, government buildings, and more. He also                 lobbied hard for economic and military aid from                 the United States ,                 which he received. Although he resisted pressure                 from U.S. President Lyndon Johnson to become significantly involved in the                 Second Indochina War, he did send a 2,000-member                 Philippine Civic Action Group to South Vietnam                 (1966-1969).
In 1969 Marcos became the first                 Philippine President in history to win election                 to a second full term. By now, however, the                 nation was all but paralyzed by slow economic                 growth, a dramatic increase in crime rates, and a                 general reduction in quality of life. All this                 despite the fact that the Marcoses were living in                 luxury. Major demonstrations began soon after                 Marcos's second inauguration, and communist                 insurgents began a violent campaign against the                 government. In response to the demonstrations and                 Communist threats, Marcos declared martial law in                 1972. He also set aside the newly-ratified                 constitutional provision against the sitting                 President from being elected to another term in                 office. Martial law would remain in effect for                 the next nine years.
By 1981 popular discontent had                 risen to such a dangerous level that Marcos felt                 it necessary to suspend martial law in hopes of                 appeasing the populace. The economy failed to                 improve, however, and the discontent began growing within the middle class. As discontent                 grew, U.S. support for Marcos decreased.
In August 1983, Benigno S.                 Aquino, Jr., a vocal political opponent who had                 spent three years in self-imposed exile, was                 gunned down soon after stepping off a plane at                 the Manila airport. Although a government                 investigation led to several soldiers and                 government officials being charged with Aquino's                 murder, no one was ever found guilty. Aquino's                 murder, which many Filippinos had been                 masterminded by Marcos himself, led to greater                 discontent, which in turn led to more and more                 violent demonstrations against Ferdinand and                 Imelda.
In 1986, after years of                 refusing to give up his presidential office,                 Marcos suddenly scheduled a presidential                 election. His principal opponent during the                 subsequent campaign was Corazon Aquino , the widow of his former rival. Both                 the campaign and the election were racked by                 massive fraud and intimidation, on both sides.                 Massive demonstrations broke out almost                 immediately after the National Assembly declared                 Marcos the winner, and he was eventually forced                 to concede the presidency to Aquino.
Having lost the presidency and                 now facing a very real threat from the people he                 had once ruled over, Ferdinand and Imelda tried                 to enlist the assistance of the United States.                 All the U.S. was willing to provide, however, was                 an Air Force transport jet, which the Marcoses                 used to take themselves, along with millions of                 dollars worth of Philippine assets, to Hawaii.
Ferdinand Marcos died in                 Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 28, 1989. Despite                 impassioned pleas from Imelda to allow her                 husband to be buried in the Philippines, he was                 ultimately buried in Hawaii.