Fidel Ramos

Fidel Valdez Ramos climbed from second lieutenant to the only five-star general in Philippine military history, serving as Chief of the Philippine Constabulary and Vice Chief-of-Staff under Ferdinand Marcos. In February 1986, he made the defining choice of his career: he split from Marcos during the EDSA uprising and pledged loyalty to Corazon Aquino's new government. Aquino made him Armed Forces chief-of-staff, then Secretary of National Defense from 1986 to 1991; in those years he built the Army's Special Forces and the National Police Special Action Force. Elected president in 1992, Ramos spent six years restoring international confidence in the Philippine economy. He left office in 1998 and continued as an advisor to later administrations until his death from COVID-19 in July 2022, at 94.