Oscar Ledesma
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Oscar Benito Rufasta Ledesma (3 August 1902 – 17 December 1995) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, cabinet secretary and diplomat.


Early life and education

Oscar Ledesma was born on 3 August 1902, in
Silay Silay, officially the City of Silay (; ), is a component city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 130,478 people. Silay is often referred to as the "Paris of Negros" due to ...
,
Negros Occidental Negros Occidental (; ), officially the Province of Negros Occidental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Negros, Negros Island. Its capital is the city of Bacolod, of which it is geographically s ...
. He was the son of a landowner and sugar baron. Ledesma received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila. In 1925 he received his bachelor 's degree in law 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 the same year, he was admitted to the Bar.


Political career

In 1940, Ledesma was appointed mayor of
Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...
by President Manuel Quezon. In December of that year, Ledesma was elected in a special election to replace Ruperto Montinola, who died in office, as representative of the 2nd district of
Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...
in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
. He was reelected in 1941 but was not sworn in until 1945 due to the Japanese occupation of the country during the
Second World War 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 ...
. During that period, he joined the
guerrilla movement Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...
. Upon the resumption of Congress after Liberation in 1945, he was reelected in 1946 and served in office until 1949. In 1953 he joined the cabinet of 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 his Secretary of Commerce and Industry. After Magsaysay's death in office in 1957 he resigned from the cabinet and successfully ran for the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
as a
Nacionalista The Nacionalista Party (Filipino language, Filipino and Spanish language in the Philippines, Spanish: ''Partido Nacionalista''; , NP) is a political party in the Philippines which is the oldest existing party in the country and in Southeast Asi ...
candidate, serving until 1963. In 1964, he was appointed by President
Diosdado Macapagal Diosdado Pangan Macapagal Sr. (; September 28, 1910 – April 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer, poet and politician who served as the 9th President of the Philippines, serving from 1961 to 1965, and the 5th Vice President of the Philippines, V ...
as ambassador to the United States, serving until 1966. During his tenure, he was able to obtain a favorable quota for sugar exports to the US. In 1971, he was elected to the Constitutional Convention representing Iloilo.


Personal life and death

Ledesma was married to Juanita Javellana. He died in his house in
Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...
after a long illness on 17 December 1995.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma, Oscar 1902 births 1995 deaths Ateneo de Manila University alumni University of the Philippines College of Law alumni 20th-century Filipino lawyers 20th-century Filipino politicians Governors of Iloilo Ambassadors of the Philippines to the United States Secretaries of trade and industry of the Philippines Members of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from Iloilo Senators of the 4th Congress of the Philippines Senators of the 5th Congress of the Philippines Nacionalista Party politicians Mayors of Iloilo City