| Carlos P. Romulo | |
|---|---|
| President of the United Nations General Assembly | |
| In office 1949–1950 |
|
| Preceded by | Herbert Vere Evatt |
| Succeeded by | Nasrollah Entezam |
| Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines | |
| In office 1968–1984 |
|
| President | Ferdinand Marcos |
| Preceded by | Narciso Ramos |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Tolentino |
| In office 1963–1964 |
|
| President | Diosdado Macapagal |
| Preceded by | Salvador P. López |
| Succeeded by | Mauro Mendez |
| In office 1950–1952 |
|
| President | Elpidio Quirino |
| Preceded by | Joaquin Miguel Elizalde |
| Succeeded by | Joaquin Miguel Elizalde |
| Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives from the Philippine Islands | |
| In office 1944–1947 |
|
| Preceded by | Joaquin Miguel Elizalde |
| Succeeded by | Post abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 14, 1899 Camiling, Tarlac, Philippines |
| Died | 15 December 1985 (aged 86) Manila, Philippines |
| Nationality | Filipino |
| Profession | Diplomat, Politician |
Carlos Peña Rómulo (14 January 1899 – 15 December 1985) was a Filipino diplomat, politician, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He is the co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines.
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Rómulo served eight Philippine presidents, from Manuel L. Quezon to Ferdinand Marcos, as the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines and as the country’s representative to the United States and to the United Nations. He also served as the Resident Commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives during the Commonwealth era. In addition, he served also as the Secretary of Education in President Diosdado P. Macapagal’s and President Ferdinand E. Marcos’s Cabinet through 1962 to 1968.[1][2]
In his career in the United Nations, Rómulo was a strong advocate of human rights, freedom and decolonization. During the selection of the UN's official seal, he looked over the seal-to-be and asked, "Where is the Philippines?" US Senator Warren Austin, head of the selection committee, explained, "It's too small to include. If we put the Philippines, it would be no more than a dot." "I want that dot!" insisted Romulo. Today, a tiny dot between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea can be found on the UN seal . In 1948 in Paris, France, at the third UN General Assembly, he strongly disagreed with a proposal made by the Soviet delegation headed by Andrei Vishinsky, who challenged his credentials by insulting him with this quote: "You are just a little man from a little country." In return, Romulo replied, "It is the duty of the little Davids of this world to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!", leaving Vishinsky with nothing left to do but sit down.
He served as the President of the Fourth Session of United Nations General Assembly from 1949–1950, and chairman of the United Nations Security Council. He had served with General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific, was Ambassador to the United States, and became the first non-American to win the Pulitzer Prize in Correspondence in 1942. The Pulitzer Prize website says Carlos P. Romulo of Philippine Herald was awarded "For his observations and forecasts of Far Eastern developments during a tour of the trouble centers from Hong Kong to Batavia." He was a candidate for the position of United Nations Secretary-General in 1953, but did not win.
Instead, he returned to the Philippines and was a candidate for the nomination as the presidential candidate for the Liberal Party, but lost at the party convention to the incumbent Elpidio Quirino, who ran unsuccessfully for re-election against Ramon Magsaysay. Quirino had agreed to a secret ballot at the convention, but after the convention opened, the president demanded an open roll-call voting, leaving the delegates no choice but supporting Quirino, the candidate of the party machine. Feeling betrayed, Romulo left the Liberal Party and became national campaign manager of Magsaysay, the candidate of the opposing Nacionalista Party who won the election.
He served as Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the United States Congress from 1944 to 1946. He was the signatory for the Philippines to the United Nations Charter when it was founded in 1946. He was the Philippines' Secretary (Minister from 1973 to 1984) of Foreign Affairs under President Elpidio Quirino from 1950 to 1952, under President Diosdado Macapagal from 1963 to 1964 and under President Ferdinand Marcos from 1968 to 1984. In April 1955 he led the Philippines' delegation to the Asian-African Conference at Bandung.
Rómulo, in all, wrote and published 18 books, which included The United (novel), I Walked with Heroes (autobiography), I Saw the Fall of the Philippines, Mother America and I See the Philippines Rise (war-time memoirs).
He died, at 86, in Manila on 15 December 1985 and was buried in the Heroes’ Cemetery (Libingan ng mga Bayani). He was honored as the Philippines’ greatest diplomat in the 20th Century. In 1980, he was extolled by United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim as "Mr. United Nations" for his valuable services to the United Nations and his dedication to freedom and world peace.
Rómulo is perhaps among the most decorated Filipino in history, which includes 82 honorary degrees from different international institutions and universities and 74 decorations from foreign countries:
At the third UN General Assembly, held in Paris in 1948, the USSR’s deputy foreign minister, Andrei Vishinsky, sneered at Rómulo and challenged his credentials: “You are just a little man from a little country.” “It is the duty of the little Davids of this world,” cried Rómulo, “to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!”
During his meeting with Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito welcomed Gen. Romulo with drinks and cigars, to which the general kindly refused. Their conversation went as follows:
Tito: "Do you drink?" Romulo: "No, I don't." Tito: "Do you smoke?" Romulo: "No, thank you." Tito: "What do you do then?" Romulo: "I etcetera."
At this, Marshal Tito was tickled by his reply and loudly exclaimed around the room, "I etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!"
When the UN official seal, which depicts the world, was being selected, Romy looked it over and demanded, “where is the Philippines?” “It’s too small to include,” explained US Senator Warren Austin, who headed the committee. “If we put in the Philippines it would be no more than a dot.” “I want that dot!” Romy insisted. Today, if you look at the UN seal, you will find a tiny dot between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea.
Rómulo was a dapper little man (barely five feet four inches in shoes). When they waded in at Leyte beach in October 1944, and the word went out that General MacArthur was waist deep, one of Romy’s journalist friends cabled, “If MacArthur was in water waist deep, Rómulo must have drowned!”
In later years, Rómulo told another story himself about a meeting with MacArthur and other tall American generals who disparaged his physical stature. "Gentlemen," he declared, "When you say something like that, you make me feel like a dime among nickels."
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the United States Congress
| Diplomatic posts | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joaquin M. Elizalde |
Resident Commissioner from the Philippines to the United States Congress 1943–1946 |
Succeeded by post abolished |
| Preceded by Herbert Vere Evatt |
President of the United Nations General Assembly 1949–1950 |
Succeeded by Nasrollah Entezam |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Vicente G. Sinco |
President of the University of the Philippines 1962–1968 |
Succeeded by Salvador P. Lopez |
|
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