Corazon Aquino

President Corazon Aquino assumed office in 1986, following the removal of Ferdinand Marcos from presidential office. She served as president of the Philippines from 1986 until 1992. As president, Aquino restored democracy by abolishing the legislature, declaring a revolutionary government, and appointing a fifty-member commission to write a new constitution, approved in 1987. In 1988, she oversaw the re-implementation of local elections and, in 1992, the first presidential election.

Aquino was born January 25, 1933, in Manila. She attended Saint Scholastica's College, a Roman Catholic private school, until it was bombed during the last part of World War II. Following, Aquino transferred to Assumption College for her first year of high school. During this time, she was required to learn Japanese due to the Japanese occupation of the Philippines.

After World War II ended, Aquino was sent to America to study at Assumption-run Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. She transferred to Notre Dame Convent School in New York City the following year. In college, she studied French and mathematics at Mount Saint Vincent. In 1953, she returned to study law in the Philippines. In 1954, she married Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr., a Filipino politician.

Ninoy Aquino was considered a front runner for the 1973 presidential election, but on September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. In 1977, the military tribunal sentenced Ninoy to face the firing squad for subversion, illegal possession of firearms, and murder. However, Ninoy was allowed multiple furloughs. In 1980, the Aquino family moved to Boston so Ninoy could complete a two-year fellowship at Harvard and a one-year fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Upon his return to the Philippines in 1983, Ninoy was assassinated.

Presidential elections were supposed to occur in 1987; however, Marcos moved the elections to 1986. During this time, Aquino campaigned to become the next president. She received help from the middle class, business community, and the Catholic Church, organizations that had not previously been a part of the political process. However, Marcos controlled the political sector and declared himself the winner. Aquino called for a nonviolent protest movement.

On February 25, 1986, Aquino assumed the position of president of the Philippines. As president, she considered free secondary school as one of her greatest accomplishments. During her time in office, the "God Save the Queen" coup attempt was made, along with many calls for resignation. Aquino also led the Philippines through the 1990 earthquake, the 1991 super typhoon Thelma, and the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo.

Following her presidency, Aquino and Jaime Cardinal Sin were at the forefront of the 2001 drive to remove President Joseph Estrada from the presidency. In 2005, Aquino also made a public appeal asking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign from office.