Corazon or Cory Aquino, the first woman president of the Republic of the Philippines, defied adversity to emerge as one of the most admired person in Asia.
Born in Tarlac on Januray 25, 1933, Maria Corazon Cojuangco was all set for a promising career when she graduated from Mount St. Vincent College in New York in 1954. But she chose to marry Benigno Servillano Aquino (Ninoy Aquino), then a young politician.
Ninoy, Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos' political opponent, was assassinated by government agents in 1983 as he returned to the Philippines from exile in the US. The accused were let off, forcing Corazon Aquino, homemaker and mother of five, to run for the presidency.
After the election in 1986, Marcos refused to step down and Aquino took the battle to streets. Finally, Marcos accepted asylum in the United States, and Aquino became the president of her then volatile country.
Corazon Aquino's reign was plagued by economic hardship and no less than 6 coup attempts. In 1992, she displayed statesmanship by not running for the office again and supporting the successful presidential candidacy of her Secretary of Defence Fidel Ramos.