Alberto Romualdez

Alberto del Gallego Romualdez Jr. (September 14, 1940 – October 14, 2013) was a Filipino physician who served as the Secretary of Health from 1998 to 2001 in the Cabinet of President Joseph Estrada. From 1981 to 1984, he was the director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine. He was a member of the Romualdez political family.

Early life and education

Romualdez was the eldest of the seven children of Alberto Zialcita Romualdez Sr., a former secretary general of the World Medical Association, and Covadonga del Gallego, a former chairman of the Pathology Department of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital. Among his siblings are footballer Johnny Romualdez and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez.

He was a scion of the prominent Romualdez political clan of Manila and Leyte. His uncle Daniel Jr. was House Speaker from 1956 to 1962 while his grandfather Miguel served as Manila mayor during the American colonial period and Leyte assemblyman during the Commonwealth era. A great-uncle, Norberto Sr., served as justice of the Supreme Court.

He was also a distant nephew of former First Lady Imelda Marcos; his second cousins include Speaker Martin Romualdez, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines President Benjamin Philip Romualdez Jr., President Bongbong Marcos, Senator Imee Marcos and Tacloban Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Romualdez earned his Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences from Ateneo de Manila University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of the Philippines Manila. He had further education in the United States: Tumor Immunology at the University of Connecticut and Membrane Biophysics at Harvard Medical School. He was also the director of the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine between 1981 and 1984.