Jose Emeterio Villanueva Romero Jr. (4 May 1934 – 10 September 2018), also known as Joe Romero or Jose V. Romero Jr., was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

statesman and diplomat.

Early life and education

Romero was born on May 4, 1934, to José E. Romero and Elisa Zuñiga Villanueva. His father was the first Philippine ambassador to the

Court of St. James's The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...

, while his brother

Eddie Romero Edgar Sinco Romero, (July 7, 1924 – May 28, 2013), commonly known as Eddie Romero, was a Filipino film director, film producer and screenwriter. Early life Romero was born on July 7, 1924. His father was José E. Romero, the first Philipp ...

was a

National Artist of the Philippines The Order of National Artists of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Orden ng mga Pambansang Alagad ng Sining ng Pilipinas'') is an Order (distinction), order bestowed by the Philippines on Filipino people, Filipinos who have made s ...

for

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. Romero's father was the son of Francisco Romero Sr., mayor of

Tanjay Tanjay, officially the City of Tanjay ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Tanjay; fil, Lungsod ng Tanjay), is a 4th class component city in the province of Negros Oriental, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 82,642 people. It bec ...

Negros Oriental Negros Oriental ( ceb, Sidlakang Negros; tl, Silangang Negros), officially the Province of Negros Oriental, is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region. Its capital is the city of Dumaguete. It occupies the southeaste ...

from 1909 to 1916 and later a member of the Provincial Board of

, and Josefa Calumpang Muñoz, daughter of Tanjay

gobernadorcillo The ''gobernadorcillo'' (, literally "little governor") was a municipal judge or governor in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period, who carried out in a town the combined charges or responsibilities of leadership, economic, and jud ...

Don José Teves Muñoz and Doña Aleja Ines Calumpang, a great-granddaughter of Don Fernando Velaz de Medrano Bracamonte y Dávila ( es), Marquis of Tabuérniga de Velazar ( es), 15th Marquis of Cañete ( GE) ( es), 6th Marquis of Fuente el Sol ( es), 8th Marquis of Navamorcuende ( es), 15th Lord of Montalbo, and Knight of the Order of St. John. Romero was formerly married to Carmelita Beatriz Espina Corominas of

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and had three children. She is the niece of Anita Corominas-Guerrero, wife of

León María Guerrero III León María Ignacio Agapito Guerrero y Francisco, GCrM KGCR (March 24, 1915 – June 24, 1982), better known simply as Leon Ma. Guerrero III, was a Filipino diplomat and novelist, and was one of the foremost Filipino nationalists of his era. ...

who succeeded José E. Romero as Philippine ambassador to the Court of St. James's. Romero obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

and

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

. He did postgraduate work in economics at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

and obtained a doctorate degree in development management from the

University of Asia and the Pacific The University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P; Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Asya at Pasipiko'') is a private university in the Philippines. It traces its beginnings to the Center for Research and Communication (CRC), which was established on August 1 ...

Professional career

Upon Romero's return from his studies at Cambridge, he worked as an economist at the Department of Economic Research of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was later the director-general of the Congressional Economic Planning Office of the

Philippine House of Representatives The House of Representatives of the Philippines ( fil, Kapulungan ng mga Kinatawan ng Pilipinas, italic=unset, ''Kamara'' or ''Kamara de Representantes'' from the Spanish language, Spanish word ''cámara'', meaning "chamber") is the lower house ...

during the speakerships of José Laurel Jr. and

Cornelio Villareal Cornelio T. Villareal (September 11, 1904 – December 22, 1992) was a Filipino politician who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines from 1962 to 1967, and again from 1971 to 1972. Popularly known as Kune, his ...

. He was executive director of the United Coconut Authority of the Philippines in the mid-1960s and served as president of the Philippine Economic Society from 1971 to 1972. In 1981, Romero co-founded the

Makati Business Club The Makati Business Club is a private non-profit business association in the Philippines founded in 1981 to promote the role of the business sector in national development efforts. Counting senior executives from some of the Philippines' largest ...

together with

Enrique Zobel Enrique Jacobo Emilio Zóbel y Olgado (January 7, 1927 – May 17, 2004), better known as Enrique J. Zóbel and EZ, was a prominent Filipino businessman, pilot, and polo player belonging to the prominent Zóbel de Ayala family who are of Spanis ...

, Rogelio Pantaleon and

Bernardo Villegas Bernardo Malvar Villegas is a Filipino economist and writer best known for being one of the framers of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, for authoring a number of widely used Philippine economics textbooks, and for his role in the founding of tw ...

. During the presidency of

Corazon Aquino Maria Corazon "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; ; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipina politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines from 1986 to 1992. She was the most prominent figure of the 1986 People P ...

, Romero served simultaneously as chairman of the

Philippine Coconut Authority The Philippine Coconut Authority ( fil, Pangasiwaan sa Niyog ng Pilipinas, abbreviated as PCA or PHILCOA) is an agency of the Philippine government under the Department of Agriculture (from 2014 to 2018, under the Office of the President of the ...

and undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture. He later served as board member of

United Coconut Planters Bank The United Coconut Planters Bank, more popularly known by its initials, UCPB, or by its old name, Cocobank, was a government-controlled and was one of the largest banks in the Philippines, ranking within the top twenty banks in the country in ...

and president of the Coconut Investment Fund Management Company. Romero was later appointed Philippine ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. While

chief of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, permanent ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he was also the executive director of the

Common Fund for Commodities The Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) is an intergovernmental financial institution established within the framework of the United Nations. It is a vestige of the proposed New International Economic Order. The CFC finances commodity development ...

and

permanent representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

to the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Romero served as a professorial lecturer and long-time trustee of the

and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. He also lectured at various times at the

Ateneo de Manila University , mottoeng = Light in the Lord , type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution , established = December 10, 1859 , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits) , academic_aff ...

, the Asian Social Institute, St. Paul University Dumaguete and

Silliman University Silliman University (also referred to as Silliman or SU) is a private university, private Research institute, research university in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, the Philippines. Established in 1901 as Silliman Institute by the Presbyte ...

. As a writer and scholar, he authored three books on Philippine political economy and the coconut industry: ''Philippine Political Economy'', ''Postwar Political Economy: 1946-1965'', and ''Transforming the Coconut Industry: Institutional and Policy Reforms Toward Shared Development''. He was also a business columnist and publisher. He was formerly the business editor and assistant publisher of the

Manila Bulletin The ''Manila Bulletin'' (), (also known as the ''Bulletin'' and previously known as the ''Manila Daily Bulletin'' from 1906 to September 23, 1972, and the ''Bulletin Today'' from November 22, 1972, to March 10, 1986) is the Philippines' largest ...

and contributed to the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

and

The Manila Times ''The Manila Times'' is the oldest extant English language, English-language newspaper in the Philippines. It is published daily by The Manila Times Publishing Corp. (formerly La Vanguardia Publishing Corporation) with editorial and administrati ...

. Romero was president of the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation, Inc., an association of active and retired diplomats in the Philippines. At the time of his death in 2018, he was chairman of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations.

Death

Romero died, at 84, on 10 September 2018 in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

while visiting family.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Jose V. 1934 births 2018 deaths Filipino diplomats 20th-century Filipino businesspeople People from Negros Oriental Corazon Aquino administration cabinet members Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Georgetown University alumni University of Asia and the Pacific alumni