Estefanía Aldaba-Lim, Ph.D. (born Estefanía "Fanny" Aldaba; January 6, 1917 – March 7, 2006) was the first female secretary of any

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, serving as Secretary of Social Services and Development from 1971 to 1977. She was also the first Filipina

clinical psychologist Clinical psychology is an integration of social science, theory, and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and persona ...

Early life and education

Aldaba was born in 1917, the fifth of 14 children. She was born and raised in

Malolos Malolos, officially the City of Malolos ( fil, Lungsod ng Malolos), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city and capital of the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Bulacan, Philippines. According to th ...

, in the province of

Bulacan Bulacan, officially the Province of Bulacan ( tl, Lalawigan ng Bulacan), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon region. Its capital is the city of Malolos. Bulacan was established on August 15, 1578, and part of the Metr ...

, Philippines, by her father, a provincial treasurer of Malolos, and her mother, a homemaker. Aldaba graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from

Philippine Women's University The Philippine Women's University (PWU) is a tertiary education school which has its main campus in Manila, Philippines. An institution exclusive for girls from its inception until the 1970s, the PWU admits both women and men as its students. ...

in 1936, a Bachelor of Education degree from Philippine Women's University in 1938, and a Master of Arts in psychology from the

University of the Philippines The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...

in 1939. In 1942, Aldaba completed her PhD at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, becoming the first Filipina to earn a doctoral degree in clinical psychology.

Career

Aldaba-Lim returned to Manila in 1948. She established the Institute of Human Relations at Philippine Women's University, and was a founding member and president of the Philippine Association of Psychologists and of the Philippine Mental Health Association. In 1971, Aldaba-Lim became the first woman cabinet member in the Philippines when she was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Social Services and Development (DSSD). She held this role until 1977. In 1976 through 1977, Aldaba-Lim served as president of the

Girl Scouts of the Philippines The Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) is the national Girl Scouting association for girls and young women in the Philippines. Its mission is "to help girls and young women realize the ideals of womanhood and prepare themselves for their resp ...

. In 1976, Aldaba-Lim was elected the Asian regional representative of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Executive Board. In 1979, she became was the first woman to become Special Ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, with the rank of assistant secretary general during the

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

—

International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child.

. She received the

United Nations Peace Medal The United Nations Peace Medal is a commemorative medal produced by the United Nations to promote peace. First made by Franklin Mint in 1971, a new design is produced annually, with limited editions offered for sale in gold, silver, and bronze. Gol ...

that year from

Secretary General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (; 21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 and president of Austria from 1986 to 1992. While he was running for t ...

. In 1994, she founded the

Museo Pambata The Museo Pambata () or the Children's Museum, is a children's museum in the Ermita district of Manila, near Rizal Park, in the Philippines. It is located in the former Elks Club Building, built in 1910, along Roxas Boulevard at the corner of ...

, the Philippines's first

children's museum Children's museums are institutions that provide exhibits and programs to stimulate informal learning experiences for children. In contrast with traditional museums that typically have a hands-off policy regarding exhibits, children's museums feat ...

, in the repurposed 1949 Manila Elks Club building in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

Marriage and children

Aldaba-Lim had six children with her husband Luis Lim, whom she married in 1944. Lim died in an airplane crash in 1962.

Death

On March 7, 2006, at age 89, Aldaba-Lim died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

at her home in

, Philippines.

References

External links

Aldaba family website
— ''founded by Estefania Aldaba-Lim''
Senate Resolution 74 honoring the legacy of Estefania Aldaba-Lim
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldaba-Lim, Estefanía Filipino diplomats Filipino psychologists Filipino women psychologists UNICEF people Filipino educators Scouting in the Philippines 1917 births 2006 deaths University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Ferdinand Marcos administration cabinet members 20th-century Filipino educators 20th-century Filipino women 21st-century Filipino women Filipino officials of the United Nations 20th-century psychologists Filipino expatriates in the United States