Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay (born August 31, 1907 in Iba ; † March 17, 1957 ) was the third president of the Philippines after independence in 1946. He ruled from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash on March 17, 1957 .
The “Asian Nobel Peace Prize”, the Ramon Magsaysay Prize , was named after him.
Earlier background and career
Ramon Magsaysay was born in Iba in the province of Zambales as the son of the blacksmith Ezequiel Magsaysay and the teacher Perfecta del Fierro. Although he was Visaya by origin , like the locals of Iba, he felt like Ilokano . He went to high school at Zambales Academy (ZA).
In 1927 he began his studies at the University of the Philippines . He initially took up a preparatory course for law and later switched to engineering, which he was unable to finish for health reasons. Eventually he studied business administration at Jose Rizal College , graduating in 1933. He also worked as a driver to finance his studies.
When World War II broke out in the Philippines, Magsaysay joined the 31st Infantry Division of the Philippine Army . After the surrender in Bataan , he organized a resistance group that fought against the Japanese army .
In 1946 Magsaysay was elected as an independent in the Philippine Congress . In 1950 he was appointed Minister of Defense under President Elpidio Quirino . He successfully fought against the communist Hukbalahap guerrillas. An important reason for this success was that soldiers delivered relief supplies to distant rural communities, which earned the army respect from the people and reduced previous distrust.
1953 Magsaysay resigned as defense minister, criticized the Liberal Party and became a presidential candidate of the Nacionalista Party .
Presidency
In the elections of 1953 Magsaysay was elected president with a large majority, replacing the opposing candidate and previous president Elpidio Quirino . As the first Filipino President he was sworn in in the national costume Barong Tagalog .
During his tenure, the Malacañang presidential palace was open to the people, and Magsaysay was also one of the most popular presidents of the Philippines.
Relations with the USA
As President Magsaysay was very close to the USA and was very anti-communist. He led the founding of SEATO , also known as the 1954 Pact of Manila , a military alliance to protect Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Southwest Pacific from communism.
As early as 1950 Magsaysay received in his fight against Hukbalahap US support, especially by the CIA -Staff Edward Lansdale , the Magsaysay advised and later a major role in the Vietnam War should play, where he presumably the inspiration for the Graham Greene - novel The Quiet American served. In addition, while serving as Secretary of Defense, the United States, through military advisers, helped Magsaysay modernize and reform the Philippine armed forces.
death
On March 16, 1957, Magsaysay left Manila for Cebu City , where he gave speeches at three universities. That same night he boarded the official presidential plane to fly back to Manila. In the early hours of March 17, his plane was reported missing. It was not until much later that afternoon that it became known that the plane had crashed on Mt. Manunggal, Cebu , and that 26 of the 27 occupants were dead. The only survivor was newspaper reporter Nestor Mata.
Vice-President Carlos P. Garcia assumed the presidency of Magsasay for the last eight months of the current parliamentary term and was subsequently re-elected for a further mandate.
About 2 million people attended his funeral on March 22, 1957 .
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Magsaysay, Ramon |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Fierro Magsaysay, Ramon del |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Philippine President |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 31, 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Iba , Zambales Province |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 17, 1957 |