The Carlos P. Romulo Site

Journalist.
Soldier.
Diplomat.
Filipino.

CARLOS P. ROMULO

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“I believe above all that a man should be true to himself. I believe a man should be prepared at all times to sacrifice everything for his convictions.”
— Personal credo of CPR, broadcasted in the US radio program, “This I Believe” during the 1950s
 
 

Carlos Peña Romulo, QSC PLH (14 January 1898 – 15 December 1985) was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author. He was a reporter at 16, a newspaper editor by the age of 20, and a publisher at 32. He was a co-founder of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines, a general in the US Army and the Philippine Army, university president, President of the UN General Assembly, was eventually named one of the Philippines' National Artists in Literature, and was the recipient of many other honors and honorary degrees. His hometown is Camiling, Tarlac and he studied at the Camiling Central Elementary School during his basic education.

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Career

President of the United Nations General Assembly

1949–1950

 

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 four times, in 1981, in 1980, and twice in 1957. He had served with General Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific, 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.

 

Philippine Minister of Foreign affairs

1950–1952

 

He was the signatory for the Philippines to the United Nations Charter when it was founded in 1945. 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.

 

Resident Commissioner
to the U.S. House of Representatives from
the Philippine Islands

August 10, 1944 – July 4, 1946

 

Romulo served as Resident Commissioner of the Philippines to the United States Congress from 1944 to 1946. This was the the title of the non-voting Delegate to the US House of Representatives for lands taken in the Spanish–American War, and as such, he is the only member of the US Congress to end his tenure via a legal secession from the Union.

 

11th President of
the University of
the Philippines

1962–1968

 

The President of the University of the Philippines is elected for a single six-year term by the University's eleven-member Board of Regents

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Honors and Distinctions

Romulo is perhaps among the most decorated Filipinos in history, which includes 72 honorary degrees from different international institutions and universities and 144 awards and decorations :

Military Decorations

 

  • Philippine Legion of Honor with the Degree of Commander, 1994

  • Rizal Pro-Patria Award, 1971, Philippines

  • Officer Class, Legion of Honor of the French Republic, 1969

  • Quezon Service Cross, 1951, Philippines

  • Legion of Merit, Degree of Commander, 1949, United States

  • Purple Heart, United States Army, 1942

  • Silver Star, United States Army, 1942

 

Diplomatic Medals

 

  • University of the Philippines Centennial Award, 2008

  • International Statesman of the Year, 1981, United States

  • Order of Merit for National Foundation, 1979, South Korea

  • Bintang Negara Republik Indonesia Adhipradana , 1979, Indonesia

  • Greatest Son of Tarlac in the Last One Hundred Years, 1974, Philippines

  • Pontifical Order of Pope St. Sylvester, 1962, Rome

  • Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix, 1950, Greece

  • Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, 1950, Spain

  • Medallion of Valor, (?), Israel

  • Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for International Statemanship in 1947, 1948, New York

 

Civilian Awards

 

  • Gran Cruz de la Orden del Libertador San Martin, 1983, Argentina

  • Gold Medal of Honor, 1958, New York

  • World Peace Award, 1956, New York

  • Silver Buffalo, Boy Scouts, 1952, New York

  • World Brotherhood Award, 1951, New York

  • Citation from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation for peace efforts, 1946, New Jersey

  • 1942 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Distinguished Correspondence, 1942

 

Republic of the Philippines Decorations

 

  • Bayani ng Bagong Republika, 1984

  • National Artist for Literature, 1982

  • Order of Magellan, 1979

  • Raja (Grand Collar) of the Order of Sikatuna, 1953

  • Congressional Medal of Honor, 1950

 

Honorary Degrees

 

  • Tufts University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1980, Massachusetts

  • Unibersidad de Madrid, Honoris Causa En Derecho, 1966, Madrid

  • University of Karachi, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1965, Pakistan

  • Delhi University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1964, India

  • Sophia University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1963, Tokyo

  • Georgetown University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1960, Washington, D.C.

  • College of William and Mary, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1955, Virginia

  • Harvard University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.),  1950, Massachusetts

  • University of the Philippines, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1949, Quezon City

  • University of Athens, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D., 1948, Athens

  • Notre Dame University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1935, Indiana