Fidel V. Ramos

Fidel Valdez Ramos (born March 18, 1928), military hero of the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, became the 12th President of the Republic of the Philippines on June 30, 1992, in the country's first multi-party presidential election since the revolution. He succeeded Corazon Aquino and governed until 1998. His six-year term as president was widely recognized in building economic and political growth and stability in the country despite facing communist insurgencies and an Islamic separatist movement in Mindanao. He launched a reform of the notoriously corrupt police force and attempted to disband hundreds of warlord groups engaged in smuggling operations. He increased production of electric power and encouraged international investment. Ramos anchored his government on his philosophy of people empowerment as the engine to "operationalise economic growth, social equity and national solidarity". That engine, however, stalled with the onslaught of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Born in 1928 in Lingayen, Pangasinan, the son of a United Nations ambassador and a cousin to Ferdinand Marcos, Ramos pursued a career in the military and in engineering. His long association with the United States started when he graduated from West Point Military Academy in 1950, culminating with a graduate degree in civil engineering at the University of Illinois the following year. He fought alongside U.S. forces in the Korean War and later commanded a Filipino contingency in the Vietnam War.

His ascent to office of President was a brilliant and shrewd display of political calculation, a testament to his avowed intelligence and integrity. But it was not without its controversy. Although committed to democracy, he served the Marcos regime for more than 20 years -- in the military, as head of the Philippine Constabulary, the country's national police force, and as a trusted advisor. However, in 1986, Ramos sided with Aquino. The military followed his lead and swung the pendulum in her favor.

After Aquino assumed the presidency, she appointed Ramos Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and later Secretary of Defense, foiling seven coup attempts against the Aquino administration. In December 1991, Ramos declared his candidacy.

Ramos became the country's third president of Ilocano descent and the first Protestant. He is married with five children.