Carlos P.

Romulo, in full Carlos Pea Romulo (born January 14, 1899, Camiling, Philippines
died December 15, 1985, Manila), Philippine general, diplomat, and journalist known for his
activities on behalf of the Allies during World War II and his later work with the United Nations.
In 1931 Romulo was made editor in chief of TVT Publications, comprising three newspapers,
one in English, one in Spanish, and one in Tagalog (the second most prevalent language in the
Philippines). In 1937 he became publisher of another chain of newspapers.
When Japan attacked the Philippines in 1941, he became an aide-de-camp to U.S. Gen. Douglas
MacArthur on Corregidor Island, and his broadcasts became widely known as the Voice of
Freedom. After Japan captured Corregidor, Romulo went with MacArthur to Australia and then
joined the Philippine government-in-exile of Pres. Manuel Quezon in Washington, D.C., as
secretary of information.
In 1941 Romulo won the Pulitzer Prize for Peace for his prewar evaluations of the military
situation in the Pacific area. He returned to the Philippines with U.S. forces in 1945. In 1948 he
served as president of the United Nations Conference on Freedom of Information in Geneva.
Romulo was president of the General Assembly of the UN (194950) and in 1950 became
secretary of foreign affairs of the Philippines. In 1952 he was named ambassador to the United
States. No longer satisfied with the politics of the incumbent Liberal Party, he decided in 1953 to
run for the presidency of the Philippines on a third-party ticket, but he withdrew to become
campaign manager for the successful Nacionalista Party candidate, Ramon Magsaysay. At the
Bandung Conference of Afro-Asian countries in 1955, he criticized the tyranny of both
communist rule and Western colonialism.
When the Philippines was elected to a seat on the United Nations Security Council in 1956,
Romulo served as member of the council and during the month of January 1957 was its
chairman. He served as president of the University of the Philippines, near Manila (196268),
and secretary of education (196668). He then became secretary of foreign affairs (196878) and
minister of foreign affairs (197884). In his later years, while serving under Pres. Ferdinand E.
Marcos, Romulo became less democratic in his views. He supported Marcoss imposition of
martial law in 1972 and had by the mid-1970s evolved from a champion of a free press into an
advocate of a controlled press, charging Western journalists with unfavourably reporting the
problems of less-developed countries. Romulos autobiography, I Walked with Heroes, was
published in 1961.