Alberto Romulo
Philippine politician and diplomat
title: "Alberto Romulo" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1933-births", "living-people", "secretaries-of-foreign-affairs-of-the-philippines", "de-la-salle-university-alumni", "people-from-pangasinan", "people-from-tarlac", "executive-secretaries-of-the-philippines", "secretaries-of-finance-of-the-philippines", "senators-of-the-8th-congress-of-the-philippines", "senators-of-the-9th-congress-of-the-philippines", "senators-of-the-10th-congress-of-the-philippines", "majority-leaders-of-the-senate-of-the-philippines", "secretaries-of-budget-and-management-of-the-philippines", "members-of-the-house-of-representatives-of-the-philippines-from-quezon-city", "manuel-l.-quezon-university-alumni", "unido-politicians", "laban-ng-demokratikong-pilipino-politicians", "benigno-aquino-iii-administration-cabinet-members", "arroyo-administration-cabinet-members", "corazon-aquino-administration-cabinet-members", "members-of-the-batasang-pambansa", "heads-of-government-owned-and-controlled-corporations-of-the-philippines", "duterte-administration-personnel", "grand-crosses-of-the-order-of-lakandula"] description: "Philippine politician and diplomat" topic_path: "economics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Romulo" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Philippine politician and diplomat ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| honorific-prefix | The Honorable |
| name | Alberto Romulo |
| image name | IAEA Alberto Romulo and Yukiya Amano (cropped).jpg |
| caption | Romulo in 2010 |
| office | Chairman and Director of the Board of the Development Bank of the Philippines |
| term_start | March 2017 |
| term_end | December 22, 2022 |
| president | Emmanuel G. Herbosa |
| successor | Dante Tiñga |
| office1 | 24th |
| term_start1 | August 23, 2004 |
| term_end1 | February 23, 2011 |
| president1 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| Benigno Aquino III | |
| predecessor1 | Delia Albert |
| successor1 | Albert del Rosario |
| office2 | 34th Executive Secretary of the Philippines |
| term_start2 | May 8, 2001 |
| term_end2 | August 23, 2004 |
| president2 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| preceded2 | Renato de Villa |
| succeeded2 | Eduardo Ermita |
| office3 | 26th Secretary of Finance |
| term_start3 | January 23 |
| term_end3 | June 30, 2001 |
| president3 | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| preceded3 | Jose Pardo |
| succeeded3 | Jose Isidro Camacho |
| office4 | Senate Majority Leader |
| term_start4 | July 22, 1991 |
| term_end4 | October 10, 1996 |
| preceded4 | Teofisto Guingona, Jr. |
| succeeded4 | Francisco Tatad |
| office5 | Senator of the Philippines |
| term_start5 | June 30, 1987 |
| term_end5 | June 30, 1998 |
| office6 | Minister of Budget and Management |
| term_start6 | February 25, 1986 |
| term_end6 | March 13, 1987 |
| president6 | Corazon Aquino |
| succeeded6 | Manuel Alba (as Secretary) |
| preceded6 | Guillermo Carague |
| office7 | Member of the Regular Batasang Pambansa |
| term_start7 | June 30, 1984 |
| term_end7 | March 25, 1986 |
| alongside7 | Ismael Mathay, Jr., Orlando Mercado, and Cecilia Muñoz-Palma |
| birth_name | Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Camiling, Tarlac, Philippine Islands |
| party | LDP (1988–present) |
| spouse | |
| children | 5 (incl. Roman and Bernadette) |
| alma_mater | |
| profession | Lawyer |
| website | Secretary of Foreign Affairs |
| otherparty | UNIDO (until 1987) |
| appointer | Rodrigo Duterte |
| constituency7 | Quezon City |
| :: |
| honorific-prefix = The Honorable | honorific_suffix = | name = Alberto Romulo | image name = IAEA Alberto Romulo and Yukiya Amano (cropped).jpg | imagesize = | caption = Romulo in 2010 | office = Chairman and Director of the Board of the Development Bank of the Philippines | term_start = March 2017 | term_end = December 22, 2022 | president = Emmanuel G. Herbosa | predecessor = | successor = Dante Tiñga | office1 = 24th Secretary of Foreign Affairs | term_start1 = August 23, 2004 | term_end1 = February 23, 2011 | president1 = Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Benigno Aquino III | predecessor1 = Delia Albert | successor1 = Albert del Rosario | deputy1 = | office2 = 34th Executive Secretary of the Philippines | term_start2 = May 8, 2001 | term_end2 = August 23, 2004 | president2 = Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | preceded2 = Renato de Villa | succeeded2 = Eduardo Ermita | office3 = 26th Secretary of Finance | term_start3 = January 23 | term_end3 = June 30, 2001 | president3 = Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | preceded3 = Jose Pardo | succeeded3 = Jose Isidro Camacho | office4 = Senate Majority Leader | term_start4 = July 22, 1991 | term_end4 = October 10, 1996 | preceded4 = Teofisto Guingona, Jr. | succeeded4 = Francisco Tatad | office5 = Senator of the Philippines | term_start5 = June 30, 1987 | term_end5 = June 30, 1998 | office6 = Minister of Budget and Management | term_start6 = February 25, 1986 | term_end6 = March 13, 1987 | president6 = Corazon Aquino | succeeded6 = Manuel Alba (as Secretary) | preceded6 = Guillermo Carague | office7 = Member of the Regular Batasang Pambansa | term_start7 = June 30, 1984 | term_end7 = March 25, 1986 | alongside7 = Ismael Mathay, Jr., Orlando Mercado, and Cecilia Muñoz-Palma | birth_name = Alberto Gatmaitan Romulo | birth_date = | birth_place = Camiling, Tarlac, Philippine Islands | death_date = | death_place = | party = LDP (1988–present) | spouse = | children = 5 (incl. Roman and Bernadette) | alma_mater = | profession = Lawyer | website = Secretary of Foreign Affairs | otherparty = UNIDO (until 1987)
LnB (1987–1988) | appointer = Rodrigo Duterte | constituency7 = Quezon City Alberto "Bert" Gatmaitan Romulo (born August 7, 1933) is a Filipino politician and diplomat. He served in the Philippines in various capacities as executive secretary, finance secretary, foreign affairs secretary, and budget secretary. His most recent office is his leadership of the Department of Foreign Affairs before and during the early period of the administration of President Benigno Aquino III.
Early years
Romulo was born in Camiling, Tarlac from Pangasinan and Kapampangan parents.
Political career
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/The_Honorable_Alberto_Romulo_(Senator_of_the_Philippines).jpg" caption="1988}}"] ::
He was then elected as member of the Regular Batasang Pambansa representing Quezon City in 1984. He then joined government service as the interim Minister of the Budget of President Corazon Aquino during the transition period following the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. He was a senator from 1987 to 1998, during which time he served as Majority Leader for five years. As Majority Leader, he greatly helped then Senate President Neptali Gonzales, Sr. in running the plenary sessions of the Senate and in executing its legislative mill. In November 1989, Romulo avoided a fatal helicopter crash near Maulong, Catbalogan when an Army commander convinced him to ride another helicopter going to Catbalogan.
Cabinet career
He became finance secretary in January 2001, having been appointed when President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took office and formed her own cabinet. He left this position in May 2001; Romulo was later appointed as an executive secretary. On August 18, 2004, he was appointed foreign secretary, and which he would hold until February 25, 2011, under President Aquino. He served as Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN in 2007.
Later career
In March 2017, Romulo was appointed chairman and director of the board of the Development Bank of the Philippines.
References
References
- Medalia, Jonathan. (2008). "Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Background and Current Developments". DIANE Publishing.
- Juaniyo Y. Arcellana. (July 25, 2010). "A foreign secretary for all seasons". [[The Philippine Star]].
- Ron Gagalac and Maricar Bautista. (September 23, 2009). "Palace: No loyalty check of Cabinet members". [[ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs]].
- (November 11, 1989). "Senator cheats death in chopper crash". Kagitingan Publications, Inc..
- Genalyn Kabiling. (June 28, 2010). "Palace happy Romulo is keeping DFA post". [[Manila Bulletin]].
- Pia Lee-Brago. (February 24, 2011). "Romulo hosts lunch for Del Rosario, but no turnover yet". [[The Philippine Star]].
- Christine Ong. (July 29, 2007). "China's influence over ASEAN likely to grow with Rice's absence". [[Channel NewsAsia]].
- dofweb. (2017-03-05). "Ex-Sen. Romulo takes oath as DBP chairman".
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