Corazon Aquino, 1933-2009
Am I the only one who missed hearing about the death of Corazon Aquino on Saturday? I didn't know until just know, when I saw this New York Times obituary.
She was one of the first world leaders I knew something about (more than just a name and a country) when I was becoming politically active. She was the first democratically elected (to a degree) president in the Philippines, defeating Ferdinand Marcos (although the promulgated results showed he had been re-elected, popular acclaim demanded her installation, and he fled into US-granted exile) in 1986.
Cory, as she was known, was also one of the subset of political women who only get into politics following the deaths of their politician-husbands (in her case, her husband, Benigno, had been assassinated in 1983, while attempting to return home to take up the standard as Marcos' chief political rival). While some of them (for instance, Muriel Humphrey) merely serve out their deceased husbands' terms before retiring, others (like Cory) take their political baptism by fire and turn it into a career, earning for themselves a greater name than their husbands. While Cory wasn't an especially effective president, she was precisely what her country needed at the time, and served with dignity, even after leaving office.
She was one of the first world leaders I knew something about (more than just a name and a country) when I was becoming politically active. She was the first democratically elected (to a degree) president in the Philippines, defeating Ferdinand Marcos (although the promulgated results showed he had been re-elected, popular acclaim demanded her installation, and he fled into US-granted exile) in 1986.
Cory, as she was known, was also one of the subset of political women who only get into politics following the deaths of their politician-husbands (in her case, her husband, Benigno, had been assassinated in 1983, while attempting to return home to take up the standard as Marcos' chief political rival). While some of them (for instance, Muriel Humphrey) merely serve out their deceased husbands' terms before retiring, others (like Cory) take their political baptism by fire and turn it into a career, earning for themselves a greater name than their husbands. While Cory wasn't an especially effective president, she was precisely what her country needed at the time, and served with dignity, even after leaving office.