Corazon Aquino

Corazon Aquino, in full Maria Corazon Aquino, née Maria Corazon Cojuangco , (born January 25,
1933, Tarlac province, Philippines—died August 1, 2009, Makati), Philippine political leader who served
as president (1986–92) of the Philippines, restoring democratic rule in that country after the long dictatorship
of Ferdinand Marcos.
Corazon Cojuangco was born into a wealthy, politically prominent family based in Tarlac province, north
of Manila. She graduated from Mount St. Vincent College in New York City in 1954 but abandoned further
studies in 1955 to marry Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr., who was then a promising young politician. Corazon
remained in the background during her husband’s subsequent career, rearing their five children at home. Her
husband, who had become a prominent opposition politician, was jailed by Marcos for eight years (1972–80),
and Corazon accompanied him into exile in the United States in 1980. Benigno was assassinated upon his
return to the Philippines in August 1983. This event galvanized opposition to the Marcos government.
When Ferdinand E. Marcos unexpectedly called for presidential elections in February 1986, Corazon Aquino
became the unified opposition’s presidential candidate. Though she was officially reported to have lost the
election to Marcos, Aquino and her supporters challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud. High
officials in the Philippine military soon publicly renounced Marcos’s continued rule and proclaimed Aquino the
Philippines’ rightful president. On February 25, 1986, both Aquino and Marcos were inaugurated as president
by their respective supporters, but that same day Marcos fled the country.
In March 1986 Aquino proclaimed a provisional constitution and soon thereafter appointed a commission to
write a new constitution. The resulting document, which restored the bicameral Congress abolished by Marcos
in 1973, was ratified by a landslide popular vote in February 1987. Aquino held elections to the new Congress
and broke up the monopolies held by Marcos’s allies over the economy, which experienced steady growth for
several years. But she failed to undertake fundamental economic or social reforms, and her popularity steadily
declined as she faced continual outcries over economic injustice and political corruption. These problems
were exacerbated by persistent warfare between the communist insurgency and a military whose loyalties to
Aquino were uncertain. In general, her economic policies were criticized for being mixed or faltering in the face
of mass poverty. Aquino was succeeded in office by her former defense secretary, Fidel Ramos.

Contributions and Achievements:

 first woman to be president of the Philippines or any Asian country
 restored democracy
 abolished the 1973 Marcos Constitution and ushered in the new Constitution of the Philippines
 reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government
 signed the Family Code of 1987, a major civil law reform, and 1191 Local Government Code, which
reorganized the structure of the executive branch of government
 initiated charitable and social activities helping the poor and the needy
 named “Woman of the Year” in 1986 by Time magazine
 on the new 500-peso bill together with her husband Benigno Aquino
Received honors and awards including:

 100 Women Who Shaped World History

 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th Century
 65 Great Asian Heroes
 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding