Estefanía "Fanny" Aldaba Lim (born Estefanía Aldaba; January 6, 1917 – March 7, 2006) was the first female secretary of any Cabinet of the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, serving as Secretary of Social Services and Development from 1971 to 1977. She was also the first Filipina

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of human science, behavioral science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well ...

Early life and education

Aldaba was born on January 6, 1917, the fifth of 14 children. She was born and raised in

Malolos Malolos , officially the City of Malolos (), is a component city and capital of the province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 261,189 people. It is the capital city of the province of Bulacan as the ...

, in the province of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan (; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on ...

, Philippines, by her father, a provincial treasurer of Malolos, and her mother, a homemaker. Aldaba graduated from Malolos Elementary School and finished her secondary education at Bulacan High School (now Marcelo H. del Pilar National High School) in 1933. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Philippine Women's University Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a coeducational tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An all girls school, institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU now admits both ...

in 1936, a Bachelor of Education degree from Philippine Women's University in 1938, and a Master of Arts in psychology from 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 ...

in 1939. In 1942, Aldaba completed her PhD at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, becoming the first Filipina to earn a doctoral degree in clinical psychology.

Career

Aldaba-Lim returned to Manila in 1948. She established the Institute of Human Relations at Philippine Women's University, and was a founding member and president of the Philippine Association of Psychologists and of the Philippine Mental Health Association. In 1971, Aldaba-Lim became the first woman cabinet member in the Philippines when she was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD). She held this role until 1977. In 1976 through 1977, Aldaba-Lim served as president of the

Girl Scouts of the Philippines The Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) is the national Girl Guide and Girl Scout, Girl Scouting association for girls and young women in the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepar ...

. In 1976, Aldaba-Lim was elected the Asian regional representative of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Executive Board. In 1979, she became was the first woman to become Special Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, with the rank of assistant secretary general during the

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

—

International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1979, by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. A follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the proclamation ...

. She received the United Nations Peace Medal that year from

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations#List of secretaries-general, secretary-general of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 a ...

. In 1994, she founded the Museo Pambata, the Philippines's first

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums fea ...

, in the repurposed 1949 Manila Elks Club building in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Marriage and children

Aldaba-Lim had six children with her husband Luis Lim, whom she married in 1944. Lim died in an airplane crash in 1962. One of her children is the broadcast journalist

Cheche Lazaro Cecilia "Cheche" Aldaba Lim-Lázaro (born September 8, 1945, in Los Angeles, California), is a Filipino people, Filipino broadcast journalist and the founding President of Probe Productions Inc. as well as an Editor-at-Large of online news we ...

Death

On March 7, 2006, at age 89, Aldaba-Lim died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

at her home in

, Philippines.

References

External links

Aldaba family website
— ''founded by Estefania Aldaba-Lim''
Senate Resolution 74 honoring the legacy of Estefania Aldaba-Lim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldaba-Lim, Estefanía Filipino diplomats Women diplomats Filipino psychologists Filipino women psychologists UNICEF people Scouting in the Philippines 1917 births 2006 deaths University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members 20th-century Filipino educators Filipino officials of the United Nations 20th-century psychologists Filipino expatriates in the United States 20th-century Filipino women educators 21st-century Filipino women educators 21st-century Filipino educators