Eduardo Zialcita Romualdez (November 22, 1909 – July 19, 2001) was a Filipino banker, financial administrator and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States from 1971 to 1982. He also was

Secretary of Finance The Secretariat of the Treasury and Public Credit (, SHCP) is the finance ministry of Mexico. The Secretary of the Treasury is the head of the department, and is a member of the federal executive cabinet, appointed to the post by the President ...

, serving from 1966 to 1970 under the Marcos administration.

Early life and education

Romualdez was born on November 22, 1909, in

Tolosa, Leyte Tolosa, officially the Municipality of Tolosa (; ), is a municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Leyte (province), Leyte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 20 ...

to Miguel Lopez Romualdez, assemblyman for Leyte and

Mayor of Manila The City Mayor of Manila (, sometimes referred to as, ''Alkalde ng Maynila'') is the head of the executive branch of Manila's city government. The mayor holds office at Manila City Hall. Like all local government heads in the Philippines, the m ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and Brigida Zialcita. His siblings includes former

House Speaker The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

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. ...

. He is the nephew of

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

Associate Justice An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some ...

Norberto Romualdez Norberto Romuáldez y López (June 6, 1875 – November 4, 1941), often referred to as Norberto Romuáldez Sr. to distinguish him from his son with the same name, was a Philippine writer, politician, jurist, and statesman. He was the first Lopez ...

and is the uncle of former Health Secretary

Alberto Romualdez Alberto del Gallego Romualdez Jr. (September 14, 1940 – October 14, 2013) was a Filipino physician who served as the Secretary of Health from 1998 to 2001 in the Cabinet of President Joseph Estrada. From 1981 to 1984, he was the director of the ...

, footballer

Johnny Romualdez Juan Miguel "Johnny" del Gallego Romualdez was a former Philippine international footballer and former President of the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). Early life and education Johnny Romualdez was born to a family of doctors and was the se ...

and current Ambassador to the United States Babe Romualdez. He is also the first cousin of former First Lady

Imelda Marcos Imelda Romualdez Marcos (; born Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez; July 2, 1929) is a Filipino politician who was First Lady of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, wielding significant political power after her husband Ferdinand ...

and Ambassador

Benjamin Romualdez Carlos Benjamin Orestes "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, China and Saudi Arabia. He was a ...

. Romualdez went to Ateneo de Manila University for highschool, graduating in 1925. He studied at the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; ) is a Higher education in the Philippines#State universities and colleges, state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by List of Philippine laws, Re ...

where he earned his degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. He held a master's degree from the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

and a doctorate from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Career

Romualdez's career in government began in 1934 when he was a bank manager at the Bureau of Banking (predecessor of the current

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...

) under the Department of Finance, serving until 1947. He was president of the

Philippine Trust Company Philippine Trust Company (, Also known in Hokkien ; & Mandarin ), commonly known as Philtrust Bank, is one of the oldest private universal banks in the Philippines. Founded on October 16, 1916, its history parallels the growth of the Philipp ...

and the Fidelity and Surety Company from 1947 to 1954. From 1951 to 1956, he was the regional vice-president of the

American Bankers Association The American Bankers Association (ABA) is an American trade association for the U.S. banking industry, founded in 1875. They lobby for banks of all sizes and bank charters, including community banks, regional and money center banks, Federal s ...

. Also in 1951, Romualdez was appointed by President

Elpidio Quirino Elpidio Rivera Quirino (; November 16, 1890 – February 29, 1956) was a Philippine nationality law, Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 6th President of the Philippines from 1948 to 1953. A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered p ...

as member of the

National Power Corporation The National Power Corporation (, also known as NAPOCOR, NPC or National Power) is a Philippine government-owned and controlled corporation that is mandated to provide electricity to all rural areas of the Philippines by 2025 (known as "mission ...

Board of Directors. In 1954, he was appointed by President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh President of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an 1957 Cebu Douglas C-47 crash, aircraft disast ...

as chairman and CEO of the Rehabilitation Finance Corporation (now reorganized as the

Development Bank of the Philippines The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is a state-owned development bank headquartered in Makati, Philippines. It is primarily tasked to provide banking services to cater to the needs of agricultural and industrial enterprises. It has 1 ...

). Due to his position as RFC chairman, he was an ''ex officio'' member of the Monetary Board of the

Central Bank of the Philippines The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (; commonly abbreviated as BSP in both Filipino and English) is the central bank of the Philippines. It was established on January 3, 1949, and then re-established on July 3, 1993 pursuant to the provision of Re ...

. He also was the government representative and chairman of the board of

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered at the Philippine National Bank, PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and is the oldest operating commercial airline in Asia. Philippine ...

beginning in January 1954 until 1962. In 1956, Magsaysay nominated Romualdez to be the Philippine alternate governor to the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

and the

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) is an international financial institution, established in 1944 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States; it is the lending arm of World Bank Group. The IBRD offers lo ...

. His nomination was approved by the

Commission on Appointments The Commission on Appointments (, abbreviated as CA) is a constitutional body which confirms or rejects certain political appointments made by the President of the Philippines. The current commission was created by the 1987 Constitution. Whil ...

in July 1956 and he served until 1961. He also briefly served as an ''ex officio'' member of the

Cabinet of the Philippines The Cabinet of the Philippines (, usually referred to as the Cabinet or Gabinete) consists of the heads of the largest part of the executive branch of the national government of the Philippines. Currently, it includes the secretaries of Executi ...

owing to him becoming the presiding officer of the National Economic Council in 1956. In 1958, President

Carlos P. Garcia Carlos Polestico Garcia (; November 4, 1896 – June 14, 1971), often referred to by his initials CPG, was a Filipino teacher, poet, orator, lawyer, public official, political economist, guerrilla and Commonwealth military leader who was the ...

nominated Romualdez to be president of the

Philippine National Bank The Philippine National Bank (PNB, ; ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Hokkien ) is a major Filipino bank based in Pasay in the Philippines. It was established by the Philippine government on July 22, 1916, during the Insular Government, America ...

, cutting short his term as RFC chairman. He served with the bank until 1961. Throughout the 1950s, Romualdez was either a member or the chairman of the board of directors of various companies including

Insular Life The Insular Life Assurance Company, Ltd. (commonly known by its trade name, Insular Life, and shortened as InLife) is a mutual life insurance company in the Philippines. Established on November 25, 1910 in Manila, it is the first Filipino life in ...

and Baguio Gold Mining Co. (now PAL Holdings, Inc.). He was director of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines from 1950 to 1952. He became president of Philippine Airlines from 1961 to 1962 and again from 1966 to 1970. In 1966, Romualdez was appointed by President

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

to be his

. In 1970, due to student protests now known as the

First Quarter Storm The First Quarter Storm (), often shortened into the acronym FQS, was a period of civil unrest in the Philippines which took place during the "first quarter of the year 1970". It included a series of demonstrations, protests, and marches again ...

, several cabinet members were replaced by Marcos including Romualdez, who was replaced by

Cesar Virata Cesar Enrique Aguinaldo Virata (born December 12, 1930) is a Filipino former statesman and businessman who was the fourth Prime Minister of the Philippines from 1981 to 1986. He is currently serving as the corporate vice chairman of the Ri ...

. In 1971, he was appointed Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States. He presented his credentials to

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

on October 13, 1971. In November 1974, Romualdez was held hostage for over 10 hours at the

Philippine Embassy The Republic of the Philippines has a network of diplomatic missions in major cities around the world, under the purview of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), to forward the country's interests in the areas that they serve, as well as to ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', it was believed to be the first time a foreign ambassador was held hostage in the United States. Romualdez was eventually released after assurances were made by President Marcos that the perpetrator's son in the Philippines would be given an exit visa and be allowed to leave the country.

Personal life

Romualdez was married to Concepcion Veloso, the daughter of Jose Maria Veloso. They had 4 children. He was a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest Service club, service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, go ...

becoming president in 1953 and later, as a district governor of

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

. He also supported the Philippine Tuberculosis Society and the Philippine Cancer Society.

Death

Romualdez died in his sleep on July 19, 2001, at age 91. He was buried on July 24 at

La Loma Cemetery The La Loma Catholic Cemetery ( Spanish: ''Campo Santo de La Loma'') was opened in 1884 and is largely located in Caloocan, Metro Manila. A portion of the southern part of the cemetery is located in Manila. History The La Loma Cemetery is on ...

References

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