Rafael M. Salas

Rafael Montinola Salas (August 7, 1928 – March 3, 1987) was a Filipino, the first head of the United Nations Population Fund. His tenure started at the agency's inception in 1969 and ended with his unexpected death in 1987. Prior to accepting the UN post, Salas served as 16th Executive Secretary to Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos until a falling-out on policy differences prompted his resignation from the Marcos government in 1969.

Early life Salas was born in Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines on August 7, 1928, one of three children of Ernesto Araneta Salas and Isabel Neri Montinola. After World War II, Salas went to Manila to continue his education and obtained his B.A. (magna cum laude) from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1950. Three years later, he completed his law degree (cum laude) from the U.P. College of Law. He then attended Harvard University, where he finished his master's degree in public administration in 1955. He returned to his country and joined the academe at his alma mater, the University of the Philippines He is a member of the Pan Xenia Fraternity and one of the Outstanding Pan Xenians recognized in 1973.

Career By 1966, Salas, also known affectionately as "Paeng," was recruited to a Cabinet position as executive secretary of President Ferdinand E. Marcos. While executive secretary, Salas was named by Marcos as chief action officer of the National Rice Sufficiency Program from an apparent heart attack as he prepared to return to the Philippines shortly after the restoration of democracy in the People Power Revolution of 1986 that swept Marcos out of power. It was speculated at the time of his death that Salas would make a run for the presidency of the Philippines.

Special citations

In his honor, POPCOM created in 1990 what has evolved into a yearly prestigious award: The Rafael M. Salas Population and Development Award (RMSPDA). It aims to perpetuate his legacy by recognizing local government units, individuals and institutions for their outstanding achievements and contributions to population management programs. (1) It also seeks to recognize individuals and institutions who continuously pursue the ideals and visions of Salas to "achieve a better world for the present and future generations." (1)

Also instituted in his honor is the annual Rafael M. Salas Memorial Lecture at the UN headquarters in New York. The lecture series began as a memorial and tribute to Salas under whose "leadership, the UNFPA grew from a small trust fund to the world's largest multilateral provider of population assistance." (4) Past speakers include former World Bank president Robert McNamara, former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Philippine President Fidel Ramos, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey, Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, and famed marine biologist Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

Citations, titles, positions of Rafael M. Salas: (2) Professorial Lecturer of Economics & Law, 1955–66 Asst. Vice President of the University of Phil. 1962–63 Member of the Board of Regents, 1966–69 Executive Secretary of the Republic of the Phils. 1966–69 Executive Director of the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, 1969–87 Honorary professor at Universidad Nacional Experimental Simon Rodriguez, 1979 People's University of China, 1980 Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, 1981 Universidad Central del Ecuador, 1982 Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador, 1982 Moscow State University, 1982 United Nations, delegate to the General Assembly, 1968 Vice-president of International Conference on Human Rights, 1968 Senior Consultant to Administrator of Development Programme, 1969 Assistant Secretary General, 1971–72 Under Secretary General of the United Nations Fund, beginning in 1973 Coordinator of World Population Year, 1974 Secretary General of International Conference on Population, 1984. Presidential Consultative Council of Students, 1954 Member of National Economic Council, 1955–61 Special Assist. to the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources and to the President of the Republic, 1961 Acting Chair of National Economic Council, 1966 and 1968 National Coordinator and Action Officer in National Rice and Corn Sufficiency Programme (the "Green Revolution"), 1967–69. Special assignments with the government included delegate to UNESCO Conference on media and youth, 1952 Executive Secretary of UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, 1957 Assistant Secretary General of Second Asian Productivity Conference, 1960 Chair of Board of Trustees of Government Service Insurance System, 1966 Chair of Administrative Code Revision Committee, 1966 Member of Official Philippine state visit to Japan and Philippine delegation to Manila Summit Conference, both 1966 "Ambassador Extraordinary" to Indonesia, 1967 Chair of Presidential School Building Committee, 1967 Chair of International Tourist Year for the Philippines, 1967 Member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine National Red Cross, 1967–69 Chair of National Committee on Disaster Operations, 1966–69 Chair of Reorganization Commission, 1968–69 General manager of Manila Chronicle and assistant to the President of Meralco Securities Corp., both 1963–66.

Honorary degrees include: (2) D.Humanities from Central Mindanao University, 1969 PhD from Far Eastern University, 1969 University of Sarajevo, 1981 LL.D. from Sri Venkateswara University, 1975 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1978 University of Malaya and University of Colombo, 1979 University of Wales, 1981 Islamabad Quaid-i-Azam University, 1982 University of the Philippines, 1983 D.Soc.Sc. from University of Cairo, 1978 University of Indonesia, 1981 D.P.A. from Yonsei University, 1978 D.Econ. from Nihon University, 1979 D.H.C. from Universidad Mayor de San Simon and Universidad Nacional Federico Villareal, both 1979 D.Pol.Sc. from Chulalongkorn University, 1980 D.Public Service from University of Maryland at College Park, 1980 George Washington University, 1981 L.H.D. from American College of Switzerland, 1981

Other honours Management Man of the Year Award from Management Association of the Philippines, 1966 named Outstanding Management Practitioner of the Year by the Management Practitioners Association of the Philippines, 1967 named Man of the Year by Asia Weekly Examiner, 1967 Indonesian Order of Mahaputra, 1968 Knight Grand Cross (First Class) of the Order of the White Elephant (Thailand), 1968 Panglima Mangku Negara of Malaysia, 1968 nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by José Figueres Ferrer, President of Costa Rica, 1974. named Diplomat of the Year by the editorial board of Diplomatic World Bulletin, 1976 Order of Scientific Merit, first class, from Romania's Academy of Social and Political Sciences, 1980

Books written by Rafael M. Salas People: An International Choice; The Multilateral Approach to Population, Pergamon, 1976. International Population Assistance: The First Decade; A Look at the Concepts and Policies Which Have Guided the UNFPA in Its First Ten Years, Pergamon, 1979. More Than the Grains: Participatory Management in the Philippines Rice Management Program, 1967–1969, Simul Press (Tokyo Press, Japan), 1985. Population: Conflict to Census, United Nations Population Fund (New York, NY), 2000. Reflections on Population, Pergamon, 1984, 2nd edition, 1985. The Far East and Australasia: A Survey and Directory of Asia and the Pacific, Europa, 1981 The International Who' Who, 50th edition, Europa, 1986.

Poems Fifty-Six Stones, Weatherhill, 1985. Footprints, Weatherhill (New York, NY), 1986.