Corazon C. Aquino was born on Jan. 25, 1933, and passed away on Aug. 1, 2009.  She was the first woman to serve as president of the Republic of the Philippines. In her term as president from Feb. 25, 1986, to June 30, 1992, she led her country's difficult transition from dictatorship to democracy.  After re-establishing democratic institutions, her administration brought about substantive reforms.  Through great personal courage and an unwavering commitment to non-violence, she successfully served her term in office and presided over the peaceful and orderly transfer of power to her duly elected successor, Fidel V. Ramos.

Born in Manila to Don Jose Cojuangco and Doña Demetria Sumulong, she was the sixth of their eight children.  In 1946, Cory Aquino’s family left for the United States and she enrolled at Ravenhill Academy in Philadelphia. She finished her junior and senior years at Notre Dame College in New York.  She entered Mount Saint Vincent College in 1949 where she finished a bachelor's degree in French.  

In 1953, she returned to the Philippines to take up law at the Far Eastern University, but discontinued her studies in 1955 to marry Benigno S Aquino, Jr.,   then a promising young politician.  

The late Senator Aquino was assassinated on Aug. 21, 1983, at the Manila International Airport, becoming a martyr in the Philippines' struggle for democracy.  Senator Aquino, the opposition leader at the time of his death, had been the first person jailed upon the declaration of martial law in 1972.  He suffered incarceration in a military camp for more than seven years, with only a brief respite in the United States to undergo heart surgery.  

After Senator Aquino’s death, Cory Aquino became leader of the opposition to then president Ferdinand Marcos who called for a presidential election in February 1986. Cory Aquino became the unified opposition's candidate. Although she was officially reported to have lost the election, she and her supporters challenged the results, charging widespread voting fraud.  

On Feb. 25, 1986, both Cory Aquino and Mr. Marcos were inaugurated as president by their respective supporters but that same day Mr. Marcos fled the country. I In March 1986, Cory Aquino appointed a commission that would rewrite the Constitution. The revised Charter was ratified by a landslide vote in February 1987.  

Cory Aquino received honorary degrees from a number of universities in the Philippines and abroad. In 1986, she was "Time Magazine’s” Woman of the Year. After leaving office, she continued her interests in international initiatives to promote human rights and to improve conditions for women, children, and families. She was co-president of the Forum of Democratic Leaders with Oscar Arias of Costa Rica, Sonja Gandhi of India, and Kim Dae-Jung of South Korea. She received many awards, including the Martin Luther King Jr. Non-violent Peace Prize and the United Nations Development Fund for Women’s Noel Award for Political Leadership. She also served as chairperson of the Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Foundation, among other philanthropic and civic positions.