Benjamin "Kokoy" Trinidad Romualdez (September 24, 1930 – February 21, 2012) was a Filipino politician who served as Governor of Leyte and later appointed as ambassador to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, China and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries by area, fifth-largest country in Asia ...

. He was a younger brother to former first lady

Imelda Romualdez Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the dictator ...

and the father of House Majority Leader

Martin Romualdez Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez (, born November 14, 1963) is a Filipino businessman, lawyer and politician serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since July 25, 2022. He is also serving as the Representative for the 1st dis ...

Personal life

The son of the late Vicente Orestes Romuáldez, a former dean of the law school of St. Paul’s College in

Tacloban City Tacloban ( ; ), officially the City of Tacloban ( war, Syudad han Tacloban; fil, Lungsod ng Tacloban), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines. The city is autonomous from the province of Leyte, al ...

, Kokoy Romualdez began his career in politics after serving as an assistant of then Speaker

Daniel Romualdez Daniel Zialcita Romualdez (September 11, 1907 – March 22, 1965) was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1957 to 1962. He was first cousin to former First Lady Imelda Marcos. ...

from 1957 to 1961. He was a younger brother to former First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitacion Trinidad Romualdez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who served as the First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power during the Dictators ...

and the father of House Majority Leader

. He was married to Juliette Gomez and children, Daniel, a practicing architect in New York, and partner Michael; Benjamin Philip, president and chief executive officer of Benguet Corp., who is married to Inquirer president and CEO Maria Alexandra; Ferdinand Martin, who is married to Yedda Marie; Marean, an investment banker, and husband Thomas; sisters

, Alita Martel, Conchita Yap and brothers Alfredo and Armando.

Political life

Romualdez embarked on his own career in the diplomatic service and in politics spanning more than 20 years. He served several terms as Leyte governor. His brother-in-law, President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. ( , , ; September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, dictator, and kleptocrat who was the 10th president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled under martia ...

appointed him as ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States while serving as Leyte governor until 1986, when his family went into exile following the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, was a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

. He was later elected as a member of the

Batasang Pambansa The Batasang Pambansa Complex, or simply the Batasan (), is the seat of the House of Representatives of the Philippines. It is located along the Batasan Road in Batasan Hills, Quezon City. The complex was initially the home of the Batasa ...

in 1984 but preferred to remain as ambassador to the United States, therefore was disqualified to sit in the parliament. He was instrumental in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China in the 1970s, becoming Manila’s first ambassador to Beijing. Known for his organizational skills, Romualdez paved the way for the state visits of President Marcos to various countries, including the

Death

He died on the afternoon of February 21, 2012 of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

, at

Makati Medical Center Makati Medical Center (MMC), also known as Makati Med, is a tertiary hospital in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines with more than 600 beds. The hospital was founded on May 31, 1969. The hospital is owned and operated by Medical Doctors Inc., a ...

in Makati, Philippines at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romualdez, Benjamin 1930 births 2012 deaths Ambassadors of the Philippines to China Ambassadors of the Philippines to Saudi Arabia Ambassadors of the Philippines to the United States Governors of Leyte (province) Kilusang Bagong Lipunan politicians Nacionalista Party politicians Benjamin Members of the Batasang Pambansa