IMELDA ROMUALDES MARCOS

Imelda was born on July 2, 1929, in San Juan de Dios hospital in Manila.

She become a beauty queen, at the age of 18, she was crowned as the "Rose of Tacloban", become"Miss Leyte", went to manila in 1953. Her photogenic face soon graced many of Manila's magazine and she was named"Muse of Manila", by thenManila mayor, Arsenio Lacson, a special title given her, after she protested her loss in the Miss Manila pageant.

in 1954, Marcos met then Ilocos-norte Congressman Ferdinand E. Marcos. After a whirlwind courtship in Baguio during the holy week they were married in May of that year at the Manila Pro-Cathedral Church with Ramon Magsaysay as principal sponsor. They have 4 children namely Imee Marcos, Ferdinand "bongbong" Marcos, Irene Marcos, and Aimee Marcos,who was adopted.

In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was proclaimed as the 10th President of the Philippines. As a First Lady, she was appointed by her husband to various position in the government such as ; Governor of Metropolitan Manila,Minister of Human Settlement and Ambassador of Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary. On 7,1972 as assailant,Carlito Dimahilig, tried to stab her to death with a bolo knife during an award ceremony broadcast live on television. Although the assassination attempt appears to have been staged, the government claimed that the assailant was shot to death by security police and the wounds hands and arms required 75 stitches.

In 1978, she was elected as member of the 165 member of Interim Batasang Pambansa( National Assembly) representing the National Capital region.

Marcos's extravagant lifestyle reportedly included five-million dollar shopping tours in New York, Rome, and Copenhagen in 1983, and sending a plane to pick-up Australian white sand for a new beach resort. She purchased a number of properties in Manhattan in the 1980's, including the $-$51million crown building and the $60-million Herald Centre; she declined to purchase the Empire State Building for $750¥million as she considered it "too ostentious." Her New York estate was later seized and hold, along with much of her jewels and most of her 175 pieces art collection,which included works by " Michael Angelo, Botticelli, and Canaletto." She responded criticisms of her extravagance by claiming that it was her "duty" to be some kind of light, a star to give(the poor) guidelines. She initiated social program such as the Green Revolution, a program that, although did not address hunger and the core problem of agricultural land reform(most filipino farmers were tenant farmers and did not own their land), encouraged filipino to plant vegetables and fruits in their gardens. Other short live programs included a national family planning program to reduce the country's population growth.

On February 25, 1986 , Ferdinand Marcos and his family fled to Hawaii (via Guam) after his regime was toppled by four-day People Power Revolution in edsa. Marcos was succeeded by Corazon Aquino. After the Marcos family fled Malacanang Palace, Marcos was found to have left behind 15 mink coat,508 gowns, 888 handbags, and 1060 pairs of shoes. February 2006, Marcos insisted that her husband acquired his wealth legitimately as a gold trader. By the late 1950's, she claimed , he had amassed a personal fortune of 7,500 tons of gold,and after gold prices climbed in the 1970's, the Marcos family was worth $35billion. However , the Bureau of Internal Revenue has no record of the Marcos family declairing or paying taxes on these assets, and the source of their wealth remains open to investigation.

In 1991 , Marcos was allowed to return home, she was the first wife of a foreign head of a state to stand trial in American court . In 1990 she was acquitted of racketeering and fraud charges , alongside co-defendant Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian former billionaire and arms dealer . The " theatrical trial" involved many celebrities. Marcos and Khashoggi were represented by trial lawyer Gerey Spence. Marcos $5 million dollar bail was posted by tobacco heires Doris Duke, and actor George Hamilton was a star witness for the defense.

Now, twenty years after the death of her controversial husband, a former Philippine First Lady, Imelda Marcos still dreams of a return to power but this time with her son as the President.

Despite what her fans and admirers, critics and detractors say about her- there is no denying the fact that she, more than any single woman or man in the Philippines , put the country on the world map, and what an image-- Beautiful , Elegant , Fashionable , and strongwilled and unafraid woman.

We saw photos of Her in magazines and newspapers and books , visiting with the most powerful heads of the state all over the globe, always, they listen to her, staring at her, smiling in admiration and hanging on her every word.

TRULY, A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER.