Caricature of President Ferdinand E. Marcos

10th President of the Republic of the Philippines

January 20, 1965 - January 20, 1985

Ferdinand Marcos was born on September 11, 1917 in Sarrat, Ilocos Norte, to Mariano Marcos and Josefa Quetilio Edralin. He was first known as a student who excelled in academics, especially in debate and oratory. Marcos was the topnotcher when he took the bar exam and obtain one of the highest score in history.

Marcos became an officer in the Philippine Armed Forces as a  combat intelligence officer of the 21st Infantry Division during World War II. From 1949 to 1959, he serves as minority floor leader of the House of Representative where he established a record of having introduced a number of significant bills. Marcos became more popular when he married Imelda Romualdez in 1954. He ran for a seat in the senate in 1959 where he was the first minority party candidate to top a senatorial election. Marcos served as senate president from 1963 to 1965.

In November 1965, Marcos was elected as 10th President of the Republic of the Philippines. He ran for a re-election in 1969 and became the first and only president to be re-elected in the history of the Philippines. Three years later, he declared Martial Law due to more and more conflicts that shaking his administration. Marcos stayed in office until 1981 where he called for a national election and again re-elected for another six year term. However, in 1986, he called for a snap election due to public discontent and pressure from foreign allies. He selected Arturo Tolentino as his running mate against the united opposition behind the widow of Benigno Aquino Jr, Corazon Aquino and running mate Salvador Laurel. Ferdinand Marcos together with Arturo Tolentino was proclaim winner by the National Assembly in 1986, but was deposed through a peaceful revolt popularly known as the people's power revolution of 1986, ending his 21 years in power. Marcos family and their associates went into exile in Hawaii and on September 28, 1989, Ferdinand Marcos died of kidney, heart and lung ailments.