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{{short description|Filipino politician and diplomat}}
{{Philippine name|Peña|Romulo}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Carlos P. Romulo
| image               = Carlos P. Romulo (1949 UN photo).jpg
| image_size          = 
| caption             = Romulo in 1949
| office              = [[President of the United Nations General Assembly]]
| term_start          = September 20, 1949
| term_end            = June 30, 1950
| predecessor         = [[H. V. Evatt]]
| successor           = [[Nasrollah Entezam]]
| office1             = [[Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)|Secretary/Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| termstart1          = November 30, 1968
| termend1            = January 14, 1984
| president1          = [[Ferdinand Marcos]]
| predecessor1        = [[Narciso Ramos]]
| successor1          = [[Manuel Collantes]] (Acting)
| termstart2          = May 11, 1950
| termend2            = January 1952
| president2          = [[Elpidio Quirino]]
| predecessor2        = Felino Neri
| successor2          = [[Joaquín Miguel Elizalde]]
| office3             = 36th [[Secretary of Education (Philippines)|Secretary of Instruction and Information/Education]]
| termstart3          = December 30, 1965
| termend3            = December 16, 1967
| president3          = Ferdinand Marcos
| predecessor3        = [[Alejandro Roces]]
| successor3          = [[Onofre Corpuz]] (Acting)
| termstart4          = October 11, 1944
| termend4            = February 27, 1945
| president4          = [[Sergio Osmeña]]
| predecessor4        = Sergio Osmeña
| successor4          = [[Maximo Kalaw]]
| office5             = [[List of ambassadors of the Philippines to the United States|Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States]]
| termstart5          = September 1955
| termend5            = February 1962
| president5          = [[Ramon Magsaysay]]<br>[[Carlos P. Garcia]]<br>[[Diosdado Macapagal]]
| predecessor5        = [[Joaquín Miguel Elizalde]]
| successor5          = Emilio Abello
| termstart6          = January 1952
| termend6            = May 1953
| president6          = [[Elpidio Quirino]]
| predecessor6        = Joaquín Miguel Elizalde
| successor6          = Joaquín Miguel Elizalde
| office7             = [[Resident Commissioner of the Philippines]]
| termstart7          = August 10, 1944
| termend7            = July 4, 1946
| president7          = Sergio Osmeña
| predecessor7        = Joaquín Miguel Elizalde
| successor7          = ''Position abolished''
| office8             =  Secretary of Information and Public Relations
| termstart8          = 1943
| termend8            = 1945
| president8          = [[Manuel L. Quezon]]<br>[[Sergio Osmeña]]
| predecessor8        = ''Position established''
| successor8          = ''Position abolished''
| office9             = Member of the [[Interim Batasang Pambansa]]
| termstart9          = June 12, 1978
| termend9            = September 16, 1983
| constituency9       = [[Metro Manila|Region IV]]
| office10            = President of the University of the Philippines
| order10             = 11th
| predecessor10       = Vicente Sinco
| successor10         = [[Salvador P. Lopez]]
| termstart10         = 1962
| termend10           = 1968
| birth_name          = Carlos Peña Romulo
| birth_date          = {{birth date|mf=yes|1899|1|14}}
| birth_place         = [[Intramuros]], [[Manila]], [[Captaincy General of the Philippines]], [[Spanish East Indies]]
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1985|12|15|1899|1|14}}
| death_place         = [[Manila]], Philippines
| resting_place       = [[Libingan ng mga Bayani]]<br>[[Metro Manila]], Philippines
| nationality         = [[Filipinos|Filipino]]
| party               = [[Kilusang Bagong Lipunan|KBL]] (1978–1985)
| otherparty          = [[Nacionalista Party|Nacionalista]] (before 1946; 1957–1978)<br>[[Democratic Party (Philippines)|Democratic]] (1953–1957)<br>[[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal]] (1946–1953)
| spouse              = Virginia Llamas<br />Beth Day
| relations           = [[Alberto Romulo]] (nephew)<br>[[Roman Romulo]] (grandnephew)<br>[[Bernadette Romulo-Puyat]] (grandniece)
| children            = 4
| residence           = 
| alma_mater          = [[University of the Philippines Manila]]<br>[[Columbia University]]
| occupation          = Diplomat, author, statesman, soldier
| profession          = Journalist
| website             = {{URL|http://www.carlospromulo.org/}}
| allegiance          = {{flag|Philippines|1936}}
| branch              = [[Armed Forces of the Philippines]] (Reserve)<br>commissioned to [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears        = 
| rank                = [[File:US Army O8 (Army greens).svg|15px]] [[Major General]]
| battles             = [[World War II]]
| awards              = ''[[Carlos P. Romulo#Honors|See below]]''
| signature           = 
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Carlos P. Romulo Reading the Message of Philippine Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon (1943).ogg|title=Carlos P. Romulo's voice|type=speech|description=Carlos P. Romulo reading the message of President Manuel L. Quezon for the Eighth Anniversary of the Philippine Commonwealth <br /> (Recorded November 13, 1943)}}
}}

'''Carlos Peña Romulo Sr.''' {{post-nominals|list= [[Order of Sikatuna|GCS]] [[Philippine Legion of Honor|CLH]] [[National Artist of the Philippines|NA]] [[Gawad Mabini|GCrM]] [[Order of the Golden Heart (Philippines)|GCrGH]] [[Knights of Rizal|KGCR]]}} (January 14, 1899 – December 15, 1985) was a [[Filipino people|Filipino]] diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author. He was a co-founder of the [[Boy Scouts of the Philippines]], a general in the US Army and the Philippine Army, university president, and president of the [[United Nations General Assembly observers|United Nations General Assembly]].

He has been named as one of the Philippines's [[National Artist of the Philippines|national artists]] in literature, and was the recipient of many other honors and honorary degrees.

Romulo believed in [[Decolonization|anti-colonialism]] and [[Internationalism (politics)|internationalism]], as well as held Pro-American, anti-communist, anti-fascist, and economically and politically liberal beliefs.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Reeves |first=Mark |title=Carlos Romulo, Rotary Internationalism, and Conservative Anticolonialism |date=2023 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/anticolonial-transnational/carlos-romulo-rotary-internationalism-and-conservative-anticolonialism/98A5FA31E85B7C59F9B80C6AC5C67F91 |work=The Anticolonial Transnational: Imaginaries, Mobilities, and Networks in the Struggle against Empire |pages=89–108 |editor-last=Manela |editor-first=Erez |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781009359115.006 |isbn=978-1-009-35912-2 |editor2-last=Streets-Salter |editor2-first=Heather|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Early career==


[[File:National Boy Scout Movement 50th Anniversary 28 Oct 1987.png|left|thumb|Romulo (far right) on a stamp featuring the "Founders of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines". Stamp for the National Boy Scout Movement's 50th Anniversary, October 28, 1987]]
Carlos Romulo was born in [[Intramuros]], [[Manila]] on January 14, 1899.<ref name=":0" /> His parents were Pangasinense. His father fought against the United States in the [[Philippine–American War|Philippine-American War.]]<ref name=":0" /> His father transitioned to working for the U.S. government in the Philippines after the war, rising through the ranks as town councilor, mayor, and eventually the governor of Tarlac province.<ref name=":0" /> 

He studied at the [[Camiling]] Central Elementary School during his basic education.

Romulo became a professor of English at the [[University of the Philippines]] in 1923. Simultaneously, Romulo served as the secretary to the [[president of the Senate of the Philippines]], [[Manuel Quezon]].

=== Publishing ===
During the 1930s, Romulo became the publisher and editor of ''The Philippines Herald'', and one of his reporters was [[Yay Panlilio]]. On October 31, 1936, the [[Boy Scouts of the Philippines]] (BSP) was given a legislative charter under Commonwealth Act No. 111.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Boy Scouts of the Philippines |title=Diamond Jubilee Yearbook: Boy Scouts of the Philippines, 1936–1996 |date=1996 |isbn=971-91769-0-3 |location=Manila, Philippines}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Birth of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines |url=http://scouts.org.ph/the-birth-of-the-boy-scouts-of-the-philippines/ |access-date=February 19, 2022 |website=Boy Scouts of the Philippines}}</ref> Romulo served as one of the vice presidents of the organization.

=== World War II ===

[[File:General Carlos P. Romulo.jpg|thumb|left|Romulo in 1942]]
At the start of [[World War II]], Romulo, a major, served as an aide to General [[Douglas MacArthur]].{{sfn|Kaminski|2016}}{{sfn|Panlilio|2010|pp=12–13, 128, 292, 297}} He was one of the last men evacuated from the Philippines before the surrender of U.S. Forces to the invading Japanese, as illness had prevented him from departing with MacArthur, finally leaving from [[Del Monte Airfield]] on [[Mindanao]] on April 25.{{sfn|Shores|Cull|1993|p=143}} Active in propaganda efforts, [https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/20605 particularly through the lecture circuit], after reaching the United States, he became a [https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1944/03/13/the-presidents-day-march-13-1944/ member of President Quezon's War Cabinet], being appointed [https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/bios/bio04.shtml Secretary of Information in 1943]. He reached the rank of general by the end of the war.{{sfn|Kaminski|2016}}{{sfn|Panlilio|2010|pp=12–13, 128, 292, 297}}

=== Position on independence ===
Romulo supported Philippine independence.<ref name=":0" /> As the United States had promised Philippine independence in the Jones Act of 1916, Romulo believed that independence was inevitable.<ref name=":0" /> Romulo tended to portray American imperialism in a favorable light compared to European imperialism.<ref name=":0" />

==Diplomatic career==
Romulo served eight Philippine presidents, from [[Manuel L. Quezon]] to [[Ferdinand Marcos]], as the [[Department of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)|secretary of foreign affairs]] of the [[Philippines]] and as the country's representative to the [[United States]] and to the [[United Nations]] (UN). He also served as the [[Resident Commissioners from the Philippines|resident commissioner to the U.S. House of Representatives]] during the Commonwealth era. In addition, he served also as the [[Department of Education (Philippines)|secretary of education]] in President [[Diosdado P. Macapagal]]'s and President [[Ferdinand E. Marcos]]'s cabinet through 1962 to 1968.<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Carlos P. Romulo |url=http://www.uprotc.org/alumni/general-carlos-romulo.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919025943/http://www.uprotc.org/alumni/general-carlos-romulo.html |archive-date=September 19, 2011 |access-date=October 26, 2011 |website=University of the Philippines – Reserve Officers' Training Corps}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Curriculum Vitae |url=http://carlospromulo.org/bio/curriculum-vitae/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902002024/http://carlospromulo.org/bio/curriculum-vitae/ |archive-date=September 2, 2013 |access-date=October 26, 2011 |website=General Carlos P. Romulo |publisher=Carlos P. Romulo Foundation}}</ref>

===Resident commissioner===
Romulo served as [[United States Congressional Delegations from the Philippines|resident commissioner of the Philippines]] to the [[United States Congress]] from 1944 to 1946. This was the title of the non-voting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives for lands taken in the [[Spanish–American War]], and as such, he is the only member of the U.S. Congress to end his tenure via a legal secession from the union.

===United Nations===
In his career in the UN, Romulo was a strong advocate of human rights, freedom, and decolonization. In 1948, at the third UN General Assembly in Paris, France, he strongly disagreed with a proposal made by the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] delegation headed by [[Andrey Vyshinsky|Andrei Vishinsky]], who challenged his credentials by insulting him with this quote: "You are just a little man from a little country." In return, Romulo replied, "It is the duty of the little Davids of this world to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!", leaving Vishinsky with nothing left to do but sit down.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romulo |first=Roberto R. |date=January 13, 2017 |title=Carlos P. Romulo |url=https://www.philstar.com/business/2017/01/13/1661817/carlos-p-romulo |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=Philstar.com}}</ref>

===Palestine partition plan===
In the days preceding the UN General Assembly vote on the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|Partition Plan for Palestine]] in 1947, Romulo stated "We hold that the issue is primarily moral. The issue is whether the United Nations should accept responsibility for the enforcement of a policy which is clearly repugnant to the valid nationalist aspirations of the people of Palestine. The Philippines Government holds that the United Nations ought not to accept such responsibility." Thus, he clearly intended to oppose the partition plan, or at most abstain in the vote. However, pressure on the Philippines government from Washington led to Romulo being recalled, and was replaced by a Philippines representative who voted in favor of the partition plan.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

====President of the UN General Assembly====
Romulo served as the [[President of the United Nations General Assembly|president]] of the fourth session of UN General Assembly from 1949 to 1950—the first Asian to hold the position—and served as president of the [[UN Security Council]] four times, twice in 1957, 1980 and 1981.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Interview with: Carlos Romulo |url=http://www.unmultimedia.org/oralhistory/category/charter-review/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203224606/http://www.unmultimedia.org/oralhistory/2011/06/romulo-carlos/ |archive-date=February 3, 2014 |access-date=September 7, 2013 |website=United Nations Oral History}}</ref> He had served with General MacArthur in the [[Pacific]], and became the first non-American to win the [[Pulitzer Prize]] in Correspondence in 1942. The Pulitzer Prize website states that Carlos P. Romulo was awarded "for his observations and forecasts of Far Eastern developments during a tour of the trouble centers from Hong Kong to Batavia".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlos P. Romulo of ''Philippines Herald'' |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/carlos-p-romulo |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170616080713/http://www.pulitzer.org:80/winners/carlos-p-romulo |archive-date=June 16, 2017 |access-date=June 16, 2021 |website=The Pulitzer Prizes}}</ref>

====Campaign for secretary-general====
{{See also|1953 United Nations Secretary-General selection}}

Romulo ran for the office of [[Secretary-General of the United Nations|UN secretary-general]] in the [[1953 United Nations Secretary-General selection|1953 selection]]. He fell two votes short of the required seven-vote majority in the Security Council, finishing second to [[Lester B. Pearson]] of Canada. His ambitions were further dashed by negative votes from France and the Soviet Union, both of whom were [[Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council|permanent members]] with veto power.<ref name="nytimes19530313">{{Cite news |last=Hamilton |first=Thomas J. |date=March 13, 1953 |title=Soviet Veto Blocks Pearson U.N. Boom; Romulo Also Fails |page=1 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> The Security Council eventually settled on a [[dark horse]] candidate and selected [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] to be UN secretary-general.

===Ambassador to the United States===
From January 1952 to May 1953, Romulo became the second former member of the [[78th United States Congress|Congress]] to become the ambassador to the United States from a foreign country, following [[Joaquín M. Elizalde]], who had been his immediate predecessor in both posts. He later served as ambassador again from September 1955 to February 1962.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Embassy of the Philippines, Washington, D.C. |url=http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/philippines-dc/embassy-dc/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030230749/http://www.philippineembassy-usa.org/philippines-dc/embassy-dc/ |archive-date=October 30, 2014 |access-date=February 11, 2017 |website=Embassy of the Philippines, Washington, D.C.}}</ref>

== Return to the Philippines ==
===Philippine presidential elections===
Romulo returned to the Philippines and was a candidate for the nomination as the presidential candidate for the [[Liberal Party (Philippines)|Liberal Party]], but lost at the party convention to the incumbent president, [[Elpidio Quirino]]. Quirino had agreed to a secret ballot at the convention, but after the convention opened, he demanded an open roll-call voting, leaving the delegates no choice but to support Quirino, the candidate of the party machine. Feeling betrayed, Romulo left the Liberal Party and became national campaign manager of [[Ramon Magsaysay]], the candidate of the opposing [[Nacionalista Party (Philippines)|Nacionalista Party]], who won the [[1953 Philippine general election|election]] in 1953.

[[File:Carlos P. Rolumo by Soshana.jpg|thumb|Romulo, portrait by Soshana, oil on canvas, 1945]]
[[File:Lingayen33pjf.JPG|thumb|Ang Paglunsad Memorial, [[Lingayen, Pangasinan]]. Carlos P. Romulo launched on January 10, 1945, Philippine and Pacific troops to liberate Luzon]]

===Minister of Foreign Affairs===
Romulo served as the Philippines' secretary (minister from 1973 to 1984) of foreign affairs under President Elpidio Quirino from 1950 to 1952, under President Diosdado Macapagal from 1963 to 1964, and under President Ferdinand Marcos from 1968 to 1984. 

====Bandung Conference====
In April 1955, he led the Philippines' delegation to the [[Asian-African Conference]] at [[Bandung]], Indonesia. During the conference, his opinions remained unpopular among Asian countries. Romulo warned against the threats of communism in Asia and justified that [[SEATO]] as a purely defensive and non-aggressive security pact. However, his suggestions were not included in the final communique of the conference. Participating countries viewed that colonialism, racialism, cultural suppression, discrimination, and nuclear weapons were considered regional threats.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Dagdag |first=Edgardo E. |date=1999 |title=The Philippines and the quest for stable peace in Southeast Asia: A historical overview |url=https://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-35-1999/dagdag.pdf |journal=Asian Studies |language=English}}</ref>{{Rp|page=93}}

===Resignation from the Marcos cabinet===
Romulo supported President [[Ferdinand Marcos]] through most of his presidency. However, he resigned in 1983, soon after the assassination of [[Benigno Aquino Jr.|Benigno Aquino]], citing poor health. Gregorio Brillantes interviewed Romulo in 1984, and Romulo said he resigned "heartsick" because of the assassination of Aquino, whom he considered a "friend", and the resulting freefall of the Philippines' economy and international reputation.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Brillantes |first=Gregorio |date=January 1, 1986 |title=The Twilight of the General |magazine=National Midweek |volume=1 |issue=9}}</ref>

According to Romulo's wife, Beth Day Romulo, the Marcos administration had asked him to sign an advertisement that the administration was planning to place in the ''New York Times'' and other major international dailies. Romulo refused to sign the advertisement and instead resigned.{{sfn|Romulo|2015}}

==Death and legacy ==
Romulo died, aged 87, in Manila on December 15, 1985, and was buried in the [[Libingan ng mga Bayani]] at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. 

He was honored as "one of the truly great statesmen of the 20th century".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pace |first=Eric |date=December 16, 1985 |title=Carlos P. Romulo of Philippines Dies |work=The New York Times |at=sec. B, p. 18 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/16/world/carlos-p-romulo-of-philippines-dies.html |access-date=April 11, 2017}}</ref> In 1980, he was extolled by UN Secretary-General [[Kurt Waldheim]] as "Mr. United Nations" for his valuable services to the UN and his dedication to freedom and world peace.

==Published books==
Romulo, in all, wrote and published 22 books, including ''The United'' (novel), ''I Walked with Heroes'' (autobiography), ''I Saw the Fall of the Philippines'', ''Mother America'', and ''I See the Philippines Rise'' (war-time memoirs). In 1982, he was proclaimed a [https://ncca.gov.ph/about-culture-and-arts/culture-profile/national-artists-of-the-philippines/carlos-p-romulo/ National Artist for Literature of the Philippines], in recognition of his contributions to Philippine Literature.

== Honors==
===National Honors===
* ''Bayani ng Bagong Republika'' (Hero of the New Republic Award)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Extemporaneous Remarks of President Marcos on the conferment of the Bayani ng Bagong Republika on General Carlos P. Romulo, outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1984/01/14/extemporaneous-remarks-of-president-marcos-on-the-conferment-of-the-bayani-ng-bagong-republika-on-general-carlos-p-romulo-outgoing-minister-of-foreign-affairs/ |website= Official Gazette|date=January 14, 1984 }}</ref>  – (14 January 1984)
*[[File:PHL Order of Sikatuna - Grand Collar BAR.png|60 px]] Grand Collar of the [[Order of Sikatuna]], Rank of Raja – (1982). 
*[[File:PHI Legion of Honor 2003 Commander BAR.svg|60 px]]: [[Philippine Legion of Honor]], Commander (''Komandante'')
*[[File:PHL_Blue_White_Red.png|60 px]]: [[National Artist of the Philippines]]
*[[File:PHL Gawad Mabini BAR.png|60 px]]: Grand Cross (''Dakilang Kamanong'') of the [[Gawad Mabini]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gawad Mabini|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/gawad-mabini/ |url-status=live |website= Official Gazette|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523192154/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/gawad-mabini/|archive-date=May 23, 2022}}</ref>  – (2005)
*[[File:PHI Order of the Golden Heart var2 Grand Cross BAR.svg|60 px]]: Grand Cross (''Maringal na Krus'') of the [[Order of the Golden Heart (Philippines)|Order of the Golden Heart]]<ref name=Roster>{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/roster-recipients-presidential-awards-ph|title=Roster of Recipients of Presidential Awards|access-date=2022-07-11}}</ref> – (1954)
*[[File:PHI Order of the Golden Heart var2 Member BAR.svg|60 px]]: Member (''Kagawad'') of the [[Order of the Golden Heart (Philippines)|Order of the Golden Heart]]<ref name=Roster/> – (13 September 1954)
*[[File:PHL_Blue_White_Red.png|60 px]]: [[Presidential Medal of Merit (Philippines)|Presidential Medal of Merit]]  – (July 3, 1949)
* [[File:Order_of_the_Knights_of_Rizal_Ribbon.png|60 px]]: [[Order of the Knights of Rizal]], Knight Grand Cross of Rizal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Story |url=https://www.knights-of-rizal.org/our-story/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615010658/https://www.knights-of-rizal.org/our-story/ |archive-date=June 15, 2021 |website=Knights of Rizal}}</ref> – (1961)


===Military Medals (Philippines)===
*[[File:PHL Distinguished Service Star BAR.svg|60 px]]: [[Distinguished Service Star]] 
*[[File:PHL Gold Cross.png|60 px]]: [[Gold Cross (Philippines)|Philippine Gold Cross]]
*[[File:Philippine Defense ribbon.png|60 px]]: [[Philippine Defense Medal]]
*[[File:Phliber rib.svg|60 px]]: [[Philippine Liberation Medal]]

===Military Medals (Foreign)===
*[[File:US Legion of Merit Commander ribbon.png|60 px]]: Commander, [[Legion of Merit]] (10 March 1950)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Carlos Romulo|url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-400215/|website=Hall of Valor: Medal of Honor, Silver Star, U.S. Military Awards|language=en-US|access-date=2025-05-23}}</ref>
*[[File:Silver Star BAR.svg|60 px]]: [[Silver Star]] 
*[[File:Purple Heart BAR.svg|60 px]]: [[Purple Heart]] 
*[[File:Asiatic-Pacific Campaign ribbon.svg|60 px]]: [[Asiatic–Pacific Campaign Medal]]

===Foreign Honors===
*{{flag|Argentina}}:
** [[File:ARG Order of the Liberator San Martin - Grand Cross BAR.png|60px]] Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Liberator General San Martín]] (1983)
*{{flag|Cuba}}: 
** [[File:Order_of_Carlos_Manuel_de_Céspedes_-_Grand_Cross_(Cuba)_-_ribbon_bar_v._1926.png|60px]] Grand Cross of the Order of Carlos Manuel do Cespedes
*{{flag|France}}:
** [[File:Legion Honneur GC ribbon.svg|60px]] Grand Cross of the [[Legion of Honour|National Order of the Legion of Honour]]
*{{flag|Greece}}:
** [[File:GRE Order of the Phoenix - Grand Cross BAR.png|60 px]] Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Phoenix (Greece)|Order of the Phoenix]]
*{{flag|Indonesia}}:
** [[File:Bintang Republik_Indonesia Adipradana Ribbon1.gif|60px]] 2nd Class of the [[Star of the Republic of Indonesia]] (February 16, 1979)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2014/10/10/briefer-bintang-republik-indonesia-star-of-the-republic-of-indonesia | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113111802/https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2014/10/10/briefer-bintang-republik-indonesia-star-of-the-republic-of-indonesia | archive-date=January 13, 2021 | title=Briefer: Bintang Republik Indonesia (Star of the Republic of Indonesia) &#124; GOVPH | work=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines }}</ref>
*{{flag|Portugal}}:
** [[File:PRT Order of Christ - Grand Cross BAR.svg|60 px]]: Grand Cross of the [[Military Order of Christ]] 
*{{flag|Spain}}:
** [[File:ESP Isabella Catholic Order GC.svg|60 px]]: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Isabella the Catholic]]
*{{flag|United States}}:
** [[File:Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg|60 px]]: [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
*{{flag|Taiwan}}:
** [[File:TWN Order of Brilliant Star 2Class BAR.svg|60 px]]: Grand Cordon of the [[Order of Brilliant Star]]
*{{flag|Yugoslavia}}:
** [[File:Orden jugoslovenske zvezde2(traka).png|60x60px]]: [[Order of the Yugoslav Star|Order of the Yugoslav Star with Sash]] (1974)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=27 August 1974 |title=Интерес и спремност за даљим разовојем сарадње |url=https://istorijskenovine.unilib.rs/view/index.html#panel:pp&#124;issue:UB_00064_19740827&#124;page:2 |journal=Borba |language=sh |pages=2}}</ref>

==Awards and recognitions==
[[File:Carlos Nehru.jpg|thumb|220px|Gen. Romulo (3d from R), as President of the United Nations General Assembly, talks with Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]]]

Romulo is perhaps among the most decorated Filipinos in history. He has been awarded 72 honorary degrees from different international institutions and universities and 144 awards and decorations from foreign countries:

*[[Nobel Peace Prize]] nomination in 1952 "For his contribution in international cooperation, in particular on questions on undeveloped areas, and as president for [[UN]]'s 4th General Assembly"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nomination Archive |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/archive/show.php?id=5563 |access-date=February 19, 2022 |website=The Nobel Prize | date=April 2020 |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Boy Scouts of America]] [[Silver Buffalo Award]]
*Presidential Unit Citation with Two Oak Leaf Clusters
*[[Pulitzer Prize]] in Correspondence, 1942
*World Government News First Annual Gold Nadal Award (for work in the [[United Nations]] for peace and [[world government]]), March 1947<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nations |first=United |title=UN General Assembly - President of the 62nd Session - Carlos Po Romulo (Philippines) |url=https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/bios/bio04.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240808035356/https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/bios/bio04.shtml |archive-date=2024-08-08 |access-date=2024-08-08 |website=www.un.org |language=EN}}</ref>
*[[Princeton University]] – Woodrow Wilson Memorial Foundation Gold Medal award ("in recognition of his contribution to public life"), May 1947
*International Benjamin Franklin Society's Gold Medal (for "distinguished world statesmanship in 1947"), January 1948
*Freeman of the City of [[Plymouth]], [[England]], October 1948
*[[United Nations Peace Medal]]
*World Peace Award
*Four Freedoms Peace Award
*[[Sons of the American Revolution]] Gold Good Citizenship Medal
*[http://www.archives.nd.edu/Alumnus/VOL_0014/VOL_0014_ISSUE_0003.pdf Notre Dame University, Doctor of Laws] (LL.D.), 1935
*Georgetown University, Doctor of Laws (LL.D.), 1960
*[http://guides.library.harvard.edu/c.php?g=358105&p=2418023 Harvard University, Doctor of Laws] (LL.D.), 1950

==Anecdotes from Beth Romulo through ''Reader's Digest'' (June 1989)==
At the third UN General Assembly, held in [[Paris]] in 1948, the [[USSR]]'s deputy foreign minister, [[Andrei Vyshinsky]], sneered at Romulo and challenged his credentials: "You are just a little man from a little country." "It is the duty of the little Davids of this world," cried Romulo, "to fling the pebbles of truth in the eyes of the blustering Goliaths and force them to behave!"

During his meeting with [[Josip Broz Tito]] of [[Yugoslavia]], Marshal Tito welcomed Gen. Romulo with drinks and cigars, to which the general kindly refused. Their conversation went as follows:

{{blockquote|Tito: "Do you drink?"

Romulo: "No, I don't."

Tito: "Do you smoke?"

Romulo: "No, thank you."

Tito: "What do you do then?"

Romulo: "I etcetera."}}

At this, Marshal Tito was tickled by his reply and loudly exclaimed around the room, "I etcetera, etcetera, etcetera!"

Romulo was a dapper little man (barely five feet four inches in shoes). When they waded in at Leyte beach in October 1944, and the word went out that [[General MacArthur]] was waist deep, one of Romulo's journalist friends cabled, "If MacArthur was in water waist deep, Romulo must have drowned!"

In later years, Romulo told another story himself about a meeting with MacArthur and other tall American generals who disparaged his physical stature. "Gentlemen," he declared, "When you say something like that, you make me feel like a dime among nickels."

==Books==
[[File:Carlos Romulo Clark Air Base 1979.jpg|thumbnail|right|Carlos P. Romulo at the [[Clark Air Base]] (1979)]]

*''I Saw the Fall of the Philippines.''
*''My Brother Americans''
*''I See The Philippines Rise''
*''I am a Filipino''
*''The United''
*''Crusade in Asia'' (The John Day Company, 1955; about the 1953 presidential election campaign of [[Ramón Magsaysay]])
*''The Meaning of Bandung''
*''The Magsaysay Story'' (with Marvin M. Gray, The John Day Company 1956, updated re-edition by Pocket Books, Special Student Edition, SP-18, December 1957; biography of [[Ramón Magsaysay]], Pocket Books edition updated with an additional chapter on Magsaysay's death)
*''[[I Walked with Heroes]]'' (autobiography)
*''Last Man off Bataan'' (Romulo's experience during the Japanese Plane bombings.)
*''Romulo: A Third World Soldier at the UN''
*''Daughters for Sale and Other Plays''

==See also==
{{Portal|Scouting|Politics}}
*[[List of Filipino Nobel laureates and nominees]]
*[[List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress]]
*[[Resident Commissioner of the Philippines]]
*[[Thomasites|The Thomasites]]
*[[Philinda Rand]]

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kaminski |first=Theresa |title=Angels of the Underground: The American Women Who Resisted the Japanese in the Philippines in World War II |date=2016 |publisher=Michigan State University Press |isbn=978-0-19-992824-8 |location=New York, New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Panlilio |first=Yay |title=The Crucible: An Autobiography by Colonel Yay, Filipina American Guerrilla |date=2010 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-0-8135-4682-7 |editor-last=Cruz |editor-first=Denise |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |orig-date=1950}}
* {{Cite magazine |last=Romulo |first=Beth |date=June 1989 |title=Unforgettable Carlos P. Romulo |magazine=Reader's Digest}}
* {{Cite book |last=Romulo |first=Beth Day |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gTWWDwAAQBAJ&q=carlos%2520romulo%2520resigned%2520marcos%2520cabinet&pg=PT179 |title=The Writer, the Lover and the Diplomat: Life with Carlos P. Romulo |date=2015 |publisher=Anvil Publishing |isbn=9789712731433 |location=Mandaluyong City}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Shores |first1=Christopher |title=Bloody Shambles |last2=Cull |first2=Brian |date=1993 |publisher=Grub Street |others=With Yasuho Izawa |isbn=0-948817-67-4 |volume=2: The Defence of Sumatra to the Fall of Burma |location=London}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zaide |first=Gregorio F. |title=Philippine History and Government |date=1984 |publisher=National Bookstore Printing Press}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://www.un.org/ga/55/president/bio04.htm Extensive biography]
{{CongBio|R000419}}
* {{Internet Archive film clip|id=gov.archives.arc.95945|description="Longines Chronoscope with Carlos P. Romulo"}}
* {{PM20|FID=pe/024688}}
* [https://bioguideretro.congress.gov/Home/MemberDetails?memIndex=R00041E]

{{Navboxes
|title=Offices and distinctions
|list1=
{{S-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Joaquín Miguel Elizalde]]}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[Resident Commissioners from the Philippines|Resident Commissioner from the Philippines]] [[United States Congress|to the United States Congress]]| years= 1944–1946}}
{{s-non|reason=Post abolished}}
{{s-gov}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Sergio Osmeña]]|as=Secretary of Public Instruction, Health, and Public Welfare	}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[Secretary of Education (Philippines)|Secretary of Public Instruction and Information]]| years= 1944–1945}}
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{{s-bef| before=Felino Neri<hr>[[Salvador P. Lopez]]}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)|Secretary of Foreign Affairs]]| years= 1950–1951<br>1963–1964}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Joaquín Miguel Elizalde]]<hr>Mauro Mendez}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Alejandro Roces]]}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[Secretary of Education (Philippines)|Secretary of Education]]| years= 1965–1967}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Onofre Corpuz]]<br> <small>Acting</small>}}
{{s-bef| before=[[Narciso Ramos]]|as=Secretary of Foreign Affairs}}
{{s-ttl| title=[[Secretary of Foreign Affairs (Philippines)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]| years=1968–1984}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Manuel Collantes]]<br> <small>Acting</small>}}
{{s-dip}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[Herbert Vere Evatt]]
| title=[[President of the United Nations General Assembly]]
| years= 1949–1950 | after=[[Nasrollah Entezam]]
}}
{{S-aca}}
{{Succession box
| before= Vicente G. Sinco
| title= [[University of the Philippines|President of the University of the Philippines]]
| after= [[Salvador P. Lopez]]
| years= 1962–1968
}}
{{S-end}}
}}

{{Presidents of the UN General Assembly}}
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{{Filipinos and Peace Prize}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romulo, Carlos Pena}}
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