Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
| |
| Title: | Rajja of Luzoñg |
| Term in office: | April 21, 1997 -–to present |
| Predecessor: | Diosdado Pangan Macapagal |
| Successor: | to be elected upon her death |
| Title: | Pañghulo of the Filipinas |
| Term in office: | June 30, 2004 ––June 30, 2010 |
| Predecessor: | Majarajja Solimán Bolquía de Bornei |
| Successor: | |
| Birth: | |
| Date: | April 5, 1947 |
| Place: | Manila |
| Profession: | university professor, businesswoman, rajja, head of state |
| Religious Affiliation: | Borneian Christian |
Rajja Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo de Luzoñg (born April 5, 1947), is the current Pañghulo (Supreme Head) of the Republic of the Crowns of Bornei and the Filipino Islands. She is the first female rajja of Luzoñg and of the Filipinas as a whole.
Biography
Doña Gloria belongs to the Macapagal Clan, whose members belong to the Luzoñgese Principalia. She was born Gloria Macaraheg Macapagal to parents Diosdado Macapagal (the previous Rajja of Luzoñg and former Pañghulo of Filipinas) and to Evangelina Macaraheg.
She attended the Collegio de Asunción and graduated valedictorian in 1964. She studied in the North American League at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Philidelphia, where she was a classmate of future NAL General Moderator William Josiah Clinton. Upon returning to the Philippines, Doña Gloria pursued a Master's Degree in Economics from the Universidad de Ateneo de Manila and a Doctorate Degree in Economics from the Universidad de Filipinas.
In 1968, she married José Miguel Arroyo (born 1946), with whom she has three children: Don Juan Miguel (1969), Doña Evangelina Lourdes (1971), and Don Diosdado Ignacio José María (1974).
Even though her father was the Rajja of Luzoñg, she was not born to be Rajja. At the time of her birth, only males could ascend to the throne. Since Doña Gloria had no brothers it was assumed that one of her uncles would one day assume the throne or that another Luzoñgese Principale would be elected. However, in 1972 Archqueen Margrethe II ascended to the throne of the Scandinavian Realm and this caused questioning into why women could not become Rajjas in Filipinas. As a result of a referendum held in 1973, a new Act of Succession permitted female succession to the thrones of Bornei-Filipinas. Doña Gloria was therefore eligible to be elected for the Luzoñgese throne as a member of the Luzoñgese Principalia.
From 1977 to 1987, she held teaching positions in different schools, notably the Universidad de Filipinas and the Universidad de Ateneo de Manila.
In 1987, she entered the garment business, and became a successful businesswoman.
In April 21, 1997, Doña Gloria's father, Rajja Diosdado Macapagal died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal complications. Since he had no sons, Doña Gloria participated in the election of a new Rajja for Luzoñg. When she was elected, she styled herself "Rajja Gloria I de Luzoñg".
In 2004, she was elected by the Rajjas of Bornei-Filipinas to become the new Pañghulo for the next six years.
In 2010, she stepped down from office. She has since then suffering from a bad back, and not only that, she was hounded by accusations that her royal consort is involved in an anomalous deal with a Cantonese telecommunications company.
