Diosdado Macapagal

Politician

1910 – 1997

 Credit »
49

Who was Diosdado Macapagal?

Diosdado Pangan Macapagal was the ninth President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the sixth Vice President, serving from 1957 to 1961. He also served as a member of the House of Representatives, and headed the Constitutional Convention of 1970. He is the father of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. native of Lubao, Pampanga, Macapagal graduated from the University of the Philippines and University of Santo Tomas, after which he worked as a lawyer for the government. He first won election in 1949 to the House of Representatives, representing a district in his home province of Pampanga. In 1957 he became vice president in the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia, and in 1961 he defeated Garcia's re-election bid for the presidency.

As president, Macapagal worked to suppress graft and corruption and to stimulate the Philippine economy. He introduced the country's first land reform law, placed the peso on the free currency exchange market, and liberalized foreign exchange and import controls. Many of his reforms, however, were crippled by a Congress dominated by the rival Nacionalista Party. He is also known for shifting the country's observance of Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, commemorating the day Filipino patriots declared independence from Spain in 1898. His re-election bid was defeated in 1965 by Ferdinand Marcos, whose subsequent authoritarian rule lasted 20 years.

During the Marcos administration, Macapagal was elected president of the Constitutional Convention which would later draft what became the 1973 constitution, though the manner in which the charter was ratified and modified led him to later question its legitimacy. He died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal complications at the age of 87.

We need you!

Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!

Born
Sep 28, 1910
Lubao
Also known as
  • Макапагал, Диосдадо
  • 迪奥斯达多·马卡帕加尔
Parents
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Catholicism
Ethnicity
  • Kapampangan people
Nationality
  • Philippines
Profession
Education
  • Bachelor of Laws, University of Santo Tomas
    Law
    (1932 - 1936)
  • University of the Philippines
    Pre-law
  • Master of Laws, University of Santo Tomas
    Law
    ( - 1941)
  • Doctor of Civil Law, University of Santo Tomas
    Civil law
    ( - 1947)
  • High School Diploma, Pampanga High School
Lived in
  • Pampanga
Died
Apr 21, 1997
Makati

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Diosdado Macapagal." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/diosdado_macapagal>.

Discuss this Diosdado Macapagal biography with the community:

0 Comments

    Browse Biographies.net