# Ferdinand Marcos _President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986_ Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/ferdinand-marcos Last updated: 2026-10-31 > Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. From 1972 to 1981, Marcos ruled the Philippines under martial law, embracing a policy of "constitutional authoritarianism." Following the lifting of martial law in 1981, a wide-ranging economic crisis, and the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, Marcos was deposed in 1986 by the People Power Revolution and was succeeded as president by Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquino. He was also the father of Bongbong Marcos, the incumbent president of the Philippines since 2022. ## Quick facts - **Born:** 11 September 1917 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P569)) - **Place of birth:** Sarrat ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P19)) - **Died:** 28 September 1989 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P570)) - **Place of death:** Honolulu ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P20)) - **Citizenship:** Philippines ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P27)) - **Occupation:** politician; entrepreneur; lawyer; military personnel; dictator ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P106)) - **Political party:** Nacionalista Party; Kilusang Bagong Lipunan ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P102)) - **Education:** University of the Philippines College of Law; University of the Philippines ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P69)) - **Spouse:** Imelda Marcos ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P26)) - **Positions held:** Prime Minister of the Philippines (12 June 1978 – 30 June 1981); Secretary of National Defense (28 August 1971 – 3 January 1972); President of the Philippines (30 December 1965 – 25 February 1986); President of the Senate of the Philippines (5 April 1963 – 30 December 1965); Member of the Senate of the Philippines (30 December 1959 – 30 December 1965); member of the House of Representatives (30 December 1949 – 30 December 1959) ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P39)) - **Awards:** Collar of the Order of Isabella the Catholic‎; Grand Cross of the Cross of Military Merit with White Decoration; Order of Sikatuna; Order of the Rajamitrabhorn; Grand Star of the Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria; Order of al-Hussein bin Ali; Star of the Republic of Indonesia; Order of the Equatorial Star; Order of Temasek; Cross pro Merito Melitensi; Star of the Socialist Republic of Romania; Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum; Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour (Philippines); Order of the Queen of Sheba ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463#P166)) ## About Marcos was born in Ilocos Norte in 1917. His father, Mariano Marcos, was a lawyer and politician who was later executed by guerillas for collaboration with the Japanese Army during World War II. In 1940, Marcos and his father were convicted of assassinating a political rival, Julio Nalundasan, but the conviction was overturned on appeal. Marcos joined the United States Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 and fought the Japanese, who held him as a prisoner of war in 1942. After the war, he practiced law and was elected to represent Ilocos Norte in the Philippines House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959. He was elected to the Senate of the Philippines from 1959 to 1965, and served as Senate president from 1963 to 1965. He advanced his political career by exaggerating his military record, fraudulently including claims that he was "the most decorated war hero in the Philippines." In 1965, Marcos was elected to his first term as president; he was re-elected in 1969. His initial policies included massive infrastructure development and construction, which made him popular but were funded by foreign lending. During his second term, debt and inflation crises and growing Philippine involvement in the Vietnam War triggered… ## Questions **When was Ferdinand Marcos born?** Ferdinand Marcos was born on 11 September 1917 in Sarrat. **What positions has Ferdinand Marcos held?** Positions held by Ferdinand Marcos include: Prime Minister of the Philippines (1978–1981); Secretary of National Defense (1971–1972); President of the Philippines (1965–1986); President of the Senate of the Philippines (1963–1965); Member of the Senate of the Philippines (1959–1965). **Where did Ferdinand Marcos study?** Ferdinand Marcos was educated at University of the Philippines College of Law, University of the Philippines. ## Related - [Gloria Macapagal Arroyo](https://diginpl.com/people/gloria-macapagal-arroyo) - [Ramon Magsaysay](https://diginpl.com/people/ramon-magsaysay) - [Manuel L. Quezon](https://diginpl.com/people/manuel-l-quezon) - [Fidel V. Ramos](https://diginpl.com/people/fidel-v-ramos) - [Benigno Aquino III](https://diginpl.com/people/benigno-aquino-iii) - [Carlos P. Garcia](https://diginpl.com/people/carlos-p-garcia) - [Diosdado Macapagal](https://diginpl.com/people/diosdado-macapagal) - [Corazon Aquino](https://diginpl.com/people/corazon-aquino) - [Imelda Marcos](https://diginpl.com/people/imelda-marcos) ## Sources - [Wikipedia (English): Ferdinand Marcos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Marcos) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) - [Wikidata item Q1463](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1463) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) - [Image: Ferdinand Marcos (cropped).jpg by derivative work: Bluemask ( talk ) Ferdinand_Marcos_and_George_Shultz_DA-SC-84-05877.JPEG : Spec. 4 Dino Bartomucci (CC BY-SA 3.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ferdinand_Marcos_(cropped).jpg) ## Licence and attribution Text from the Wikipedia article Ferdinand Marcos, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Ferdinand Marcos (cropped).jpg — derivative work: Bluemask ( talk ) Ferdinand_Marcos_and_George_Shultz_DA-SC-84-05877.JPEG : Spec. 4 Dino Bartomucci, CC BY-SA 3.0. ## Cite this page "Ferdinand Marcos". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/ferdinand-marcos. Retrieved 5 November 2026.