Salvador Ponce Lopez (May 27, 1911 – October 18, 1993) was a Filipino writer, journalist, educator, diplomat and statesman. 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 ...

(UP) and obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1931 and a Master of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1933. At UP, he was drama critic for the Philippine Collegian and member of the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. From 1933 to 1936, Lopez taught literature and journalism at the University of Manila. He also became a daily columnist and magazine editor of the Philippine Herald until

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 ...

. In 1940, Lopez's essay "Literature and Society" won the Commonwealth Literary Awards. His essay posited that art must have substance and that poet José García Villa's adherence to "art for art's sake" is decadent. The essay provoked debates, the discussion centering on proletarian literature, i.e., engaged or committed literature versus the orientation of literature as an art for the sake of art itself. In 1953, Lopez authored an important report o
Freedom of Information
for the United Nations. 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 Secretary of Foreign Affairs and then became ambassador to the United Nations for six years before being reassigned to France for seven years. He would also serve as Chairperson of the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

. Lopez was the president of the University of the Philippines from 1969 to 1975. He established a system of democratic consultation wherein decisions such as promotions and appointments were made through greater participation by faculty and administrative personnel; he also reorganized UP into the UP System. It was during Lopez's presidency that UP students were politically radicalized, launching mass protests against the Marcos regime right from the so-called " First Quarter Storm" in 1970 to the Diliman Commune in 1971. During the latter, Lopez called on all UP students, faculty, and employees to defend the university and its autonomy from Marcos's militarization, as the military sought to occupy the campus in search of alleged leftists, activists, and other opponents of the regime. Due to his defense of UP's autonomy and democracy, many considered him a progressive and a militant member of the UP academe.

References

Media Museum Who's Who in Print Journalism - Salvador P. Lopez
Retrieved September 29, 2005. * Quindoza-Santiago, Dr. Lilia
Philippine Literature during the American Period
Retrieved September 29, 2005. * Godinez-Ortega, Christine F

Retrieved September 29, 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Salvador Ponce 1911 births 1993 deaths Filipino writers People from Ilocos Norte University of the Philippines alumni Secretaries of foreign affairs of the Philippines Permanent representatives of the Philippines to the United Nations Ambassadors of the Philippines to France Macapagal administration cabinet members Presidents of universities and colleges in the Philippines