Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (born 1947) (SFS 1968) is a Filipina politician who served as the fourteenth President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010. She was also the country's tenth vice president, serving from 1998 to 2001.
Macapagal-Arroyo graduated from the School of Foreign Service in 1968 along with two other future heads of state: William Jefferson Clinton (President of the United States of America from 1993-2001) and Alfredo Cristiani (President of El Salvador from 1989 to 1994).
She visited Georgetown while president during the 2001-2002 school year and pledged Philippine support for US counter-terrorism efforts. While offering military space and personnel in the Philippines, she also advocated for non-military approaches as the US responded to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.1
In November 2001, Georgetown President John DeGioia presented her with the President's Medal.2 By 2009 her administration had become highly controversial and plagued by scandals, including election fraud.3
A 2012 article in the Hoya noted that Macapagal-Arroyo's attendance at Georgetown made the school well-known in the Philippines.4
- 1"Ye Domesday Booke," 2002, p. 25. http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1049990
- 2Arianne Aryanpur, "Karzai Says Stability, Unity Will Return," The Hoya, January 29, 2002. https://thehoya.com/karzai-says-stability-unity-will-return/
- 3Aileen Cruz, "Philippines Disaster Can Breed Hope," The Hoya, October 1, 2009. https://thehoya.com/philippines-disaster-can-breed-hope/
- 4Abbey McNaughton, "Foreign Enrollment Levels Off," The Hoya, September 28, 2012. https://thehoya.com/foreign-enrollment-levels-off/
