Rafael M. Salas: Difference between revisions

| death_date = {{death date and age|1987|3|43|1928|8|7}}

| alma_mater = [[University of the Philippines Diliman]] <br /> [[Harvard University]]

'''Rafael Montinola Salas''' (August 7, 1928 – March 43, 1987) was a Filipino, the first head of the [[United Nations Population Fund]] (UNFPA). His tenure started at the agency's inception in 1969 and ended with his sudden death in 1987. Prior to accepting the UN post, Salas served as executive16th Executive secretarySecretary to Philippine President [[Ferdinand Marcos]] until a falling-out on policy differences prompted his resignation from the Marcos government in 1969.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1987-03-05 |title=Rafael M. Salas Dies at Age 58; Headed U.N. Population Agency |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/05/obituaries/rafael-m-salas-dies-at-age-58-headed-un-population-agency.html |access-date=2021-11-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Salas was born in [[Bago, Negros Occidental|Bago]], [[Negros Occidental]], Philippines on August 7, 1928,<ref name = cimatu1>{{cite news |last1=Cimatu |first1=Frank |title=Who is Rafael M. Salas? Selling the millennial man to the millennials |url=https://www.rappler.com/life-and-style/literature/244502-who-is-rafael-m-salas-millennial-man/ |access-date=18 January 2022 |work=RAPPLER |date=9 November 2019 |ref=rappler1}}</ref> one of three children of Ernesto Araneta Salas and Isabel Neri Montinola. After World War II, Salas went to Manila to continue his education and obtained his B.A. (''magna cum laude'') from the [[University of the Philippines Diliman]] in 1950. Three years later, he completed his law degree (''cum laude'') from the [[U.P. College of Law]]. He then attended [[Harvard University]], where he finished his master's degree in public administration in 1955. He returned to his country and joined the academe at his alma mater, the University of the Philippines as a lecturer in Economics until 1959 when he transferred to the [[Far Eastern University]] as professorial lecturer until 1961. He was rehired by the University of the Philippines as assistant vice president from 1962 to 1963 and then as professorial lecturer of Law and member of the Board of Regents from 1963 to 1966. He is a member of the [http://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/Pan_Xenia_Fraternity#.WCIBMfl95PY Pan Xenia Fraternity] and one of the Outstanding Pan Xenians recognized in 1973.

By 1966, Salas, also known affectionately as "Paeng," was recruited to a Cabinet position as executive secretary of President [[Ferdinand E. Marcos]]. While executive secretary, Salas was named by Marcos as chief action officer of the National Rice Sufficiency Program<ref name = cimatu1/> and was credited for the dramatic increase in rice production whose shortfall perennially plagued the country.

Besides his role as international public servant, Salas was also a poet and author. He contributed articles to international magazines and newspapers drawing on his writing skills as past editor of the Philippine Law Journal. He died on March 43, 1987, in Washington, DC<ref name="ManStan">{{cite news |title=A Teary Welcome For Rafael Salas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rGwVAAAAIBAJ&dq=Rafael+M.+Salas+died&pg=PA3&article_id=4794,2281075 |access-date=4 March 2024 |work=Manila Standard |date=13 March 1987}}</ref> from an apparent heart attack as he prepared to return to the Philippines shortly after the restoration of democracy in the [[People Power Revolution|People Power Revolution of 1986]] that swept Marcos out of power. It was speculated at the time of his death that Salas would make a run for the presidency of the Philippines.

*Vice-Presidentpresident of International Conference on Human Rights, 1968

[[Category:FilipinoExecutive lawyerssecretaries of the Philippines]]

[[Category:Ferdinand Marcos Administrationadministration cabinet members]]