Corazon Aquino

Biography

María Corazón Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino, known as Cory Aquino, was born on January 25, 1933, in Paniqui, Tarlac, Philippines, into the politically influential Cojuangco family. She was the 11th president of the Philippines, from 1986 to 1992, and the first woman to hold the office in the country's history. Her path to the presidency began with the assassination of her husband, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr., on August 21, 1983, which turned her from a private person into the leading symbol against Ferdinand Marcos' authoritarian rule. She passed away on August 1, 2009, in Makati, after battling colon cancer.

Aquino married Benigno Aquino Jr., a noted senator and a strong critic of President Marcos, and they had five children together. When Marcos imposed martial law in 1972, the family faced political persecution, including her husband's imprisonment. Following his release and exile in the United States, Benigno Aquino returned to the Philippines in 1983 and was killed at Manila International Airport. His death fueled opposition to the Marcos regime, with Cory Aquino taking on the leadership of the push for democracy.

In late 1985, Marcos called for a snap election to validate his rule. Aquino, with no prior political experience, ran as the opposition candidate alongside former Senator Salvador Laurel as her vice-presidential pick. After the February 7, 1986 election, the government-controlled Batasang Pambansa declared Marcos the winner, leading to widespread claims of electoral fraud. Aquino urged civil disobedience, sparking the People Power Revolution along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Manila. Gaining backing from the Catholic Church under Cardinal Jaime Sin and from military defectors, the revolution forced Marcos into exile in Hawaii. Aquino was inaugurated as president on February 25, 1986.

As president, Aquino led the creation and ratification of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which reinstated democratic institutions, re-established a bicameral Congress, and imposed limits on executive power to prevent another authoritarian regime. Her government withstood several coup attempts by factions loyal to Marcos or unhappy with her leadership. She also managed challenges like a struggling economy, ongoing communist and Muslim separatist conflicts, and the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption. Despite these challenges, she adhered to the constitutional limit of a single presidential term and peacefully handed power over to her elected successor, Fidel Ramos, in 1992. This peaceful transition was seen as a confirmation of the democratic achievements her revolution had won.

After her presidency, Aquino continued to be a significant moral voice in Philippine politics. She supported future pro-democracy movements, including the 2001 People Power II uprising that ousted President Joseph Estrada. Her son, Benigno Aquino III, became the Philippines' 15th president in 2010, the year after her passing. Throughout her life, she received numerous international honors, including being named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 1986, receiving the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1998, and the J. William Fulbright Prize in 1996, along with many other awards from around the world.