Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr.

(UK: /ˈmɑːrkɒs/ MAR-koss, US: /-koʊs, -kɔːs/ -kohss,

-kawss,[8][9] Tagalog: [ˈmaɾkɔs]; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician,
lawyer, dictator,[10][11][12] and kleptocrat[13][14][15] who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to
1986. He ruled under martial law from 1972 until 1981[16] and kept most of his martial law powers until
he was deposed in 1986, branding his rule as "constitutional authoritarianism"[17][18]: 414 under
his Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (New Society Movement). One of the most controversial leaders of the
20th century, Marcos's rule was infamous for its corruption,[19][20][21] extravagance,[22][23][24] and brutality.[25]
[26][27]

Marcos gained political success by claiming to have been the "most decorated war hero in the
Philippines",[28] but many of his claims have been found to be false,[29][30][31] with United States
Army documents describing his wartime claims as "fraudulent" and "absurd".[32][33] After World War II,
he became a lawyer then served in the Philippine House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and
the Philippine Senate from 1959 to 1965. He was elected the President of the Philippines in 1965
and presided over an economy that grew during the beginning of his 20-year rule[34] but would end in
the loss of livelihood, extreme poverty,[35][36] and a crushing debt crisis.[37][36] He pursued an aggressive
program of infrastructure development funded by foreign debt,[38][39] making him popular during his first
term, although it triggered an inflationary crisis which led to social unrest in his second term.[40]
[41]
Marcos placed the Philippines under martial law on September 23, 1972,[42][43] shortly before the
end of his second term. Martial law was ratified in 1973 through a fraudulent referendum.[44] The
Constitution was revised, media outlets were silenced,[45] and violence and oppression were
used[27] against the political opposition,[46][47] Muslims,[48] suspected communists,[49][50] and ordinary
citizens.[47]
After being elected for a third term in the 1981 Philippine presidential election and referendum,
Marcos's popularity suffered greatly, due to the economic collapse that began in early 1983 and the
public outrage over the assassination of opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. later
that year. This discontent, the resulting resurgence of the opposition in the 1984 Philippine
parliamentary election, and the discovery of documents exposing his financial accounts and false
war records led Marcos to call the snap election of 1986. Allegations of mass cheating, political
turmoil, and human rights abuses led to the People Power Revolution of February 1986, which
removed him from power.[51] To avoid what could have been a military confrontation in Manila
between pro- and anti-Marcos troops, Marcos was advised by US president Ronald Reagan through
Senator Paul Laxalt to "cut and cut cleanly".[52] Marcos then fled with his family to Hawaii.[53] He was
succeeded as president by Aquino's widow, Corazon "Cory" Aquino.[54][55][56]
According to source documents provided by the Presidential Commission on Good
Government (PCGG),[57] the Marcos family stole US$5 billion–$10 billion from the Central Bank of the
Philippines.[58][59] The PCGG also maintained that the Marcos family enjoyed a decadent lifestyle,
taking away billions of dollars[60] from the Philippines[61][62] between 1965 and 1986. His wife, Imelda
Marcos, made infamous in her own right by the excesses that characterized her and her husband's
conjugal dictatorship,[63][64][65] is the source of the term "Imeldific".[66] Two of their children, Imee
Marcos and Bongbong Marcos, are still active in Philippine politics, with Bongbong having been
elected president in the 2022 Philippine presidential election. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos held
the Guinness World Record for the largest-ever theft from a government for decades,[67] although
Guinness took the record down from their website while it underwent periodic review a few weeks
before the 2022 election.[68]

Personal life
Main article: Marcos family
 Ferdinand Marcos (right) with his family in the 1920s
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos was born on September 11, 1917, in the town of Sarrat, Ilocos
Norte, to Mariano Marcos (1897–1945) and Josefa Edralin (1893–1988).[69] Mariano Marcos was
a lawyer and congressman from Ilocos Norte, Philippines.[70] He was executed by Filipino guerillas in
1945 for being a Japanese propagandist and collaborator during World War II. Drawn and
quartered with the use of carabaos, his remains were left hanging on a tree.[71][72][73] Josefa Marcos
was a schoolteacher who would far outlive her husband – dying in 1988, two years after the Marcos
family left her in Malacañang Palace when they fled into exile after the 1986 People Power
Revolution, and only one year before her son Ferdinand's death.[74]
Ferdinand was first baptized and raised into the Philippine Independent Church.[75] He subsequently
converted to Roman Catholicism in later life to marry Imelda Trinidad Romualdez.[76]
Marcos lived with a common-law wife, Carmen Ortega, an Ilocana mestiza who was 1949 Miss
Press Photography. They had three children and resided for about two years at 204 Ortega Street
in San Juan. In August 1953, their engagement was announced in Manila dailies.[4]
Not much is known about what happened to Ortega and their children after, but Marcos married
Imelda Trinidad Romualdez on April 17, 1954, only 11 days after they first met. They had three
biological children: Ferdinand, Imee, and Irene Marcos.[77] Marcos's fourth child with Ortega was born
after his marriage to Imelda.[63] Marcos and Imelda later adopted a daughter, Aimee.[78] Marcos had an
affair with American actress Dovie Beams from 1968 to 1970. According to reports by the Sydney
Morning Herald, Marcos also had an affair with former Playboy model Evelin Hegyesi around 1970
and sired a child with her, Analisa Josefa.[6]
Marcos claimed that he was a descendant of Antonio Luna, a Filipino general during the Philippine–
American War,[79] a claim which has since been debunked by genealogist Mona Magno-Veluz.[80] He
also claimed that his ancestor was a 16th-century pirate, Limahong (Chinese: 林阿鳳), who used to
raid the coasts of the South China Sea.[81][82] He is a Chinese mestizo descendant, just like many
other presidents.[8

Education
Marcos studied law at the University of the Philippines (UP) in Manila, attending the College of Law.
He excelled in both curricular and extra-curricular activities, becoming a member of the university's
swimming, boxing, and wrestling teams. He was also an accomplished orator, debater, and writer for
the student newspaper. While attending the UP College of Law, he became a member of the Upsilon
Sigma Phi, where he met his future colleagues in government and some of his staunchest critics.[84]
[page needed][85][page needed]

When he sat for the 1939 Bar Examinations, he was a bar topnotcher (top scorer) with a score of
92.35%.[86] He graduated cum laude and was in the top ten of his class, with future Chief Justice Felix
Makasiar becoming their class salutatorian.[87][88] He was elected to the Pi Gamma Mu and the Phi
Kappa Phi international honor societies, the latter giving him its Most Distinguished Member Award
37 years later.[89]

Ferdinand Marcos being conferred with a Doctor

Laws, honoris causa degree during the investiture of the first Filipino president of Central
Philippine University, Rex D. Drilon, on April 21, 1967.
Ferdinand Marcos received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) (honoris causa) degree in 1967
from Central Philippine University.[90][page needed]