Oscar Ledesma
Senator of the Philippines
In office
30 December 1957  30 December 1963
Member of the House of Representatives from Iloilo's 2nd district
In office
9 June 1945  30 December 1949
Preceded bydistrict reestablished
Succeeded byPascual Espinosa
In office
10 December 1940  30 December 1941
Preceded byRuperto Montinola
Succeeded bydistrict abolished
Secretary of Commerce and Industry
In office
1953–1957
Appointed byRamon Magsaysay
Preceded byCornelio Balmaceda
Succeeded byPedro Hernaez
Ambassador of the Philippines to the United States
In office
1964–1966
Appointed byDiosdado Macapagal
Preceded byAmelito Mutuc
Succeeded bySalvador P. Lopez
Personal details
Born(1902-08-03)August 3, 1902
Silay, Negros Occidental, Philippine Islands
DiedDecember 17, 1995(1995-12-17) (aged 93)
Quezon City, Philippines
Political partyNacionalista

Oscar Benito Rufasta Ledesma (August 3, 1902 – December 17, 1995) was a Filipino politician, lawyer, cabinet secretary and diplomat.

Biography

Oscar Ledesma was born on April 3, 1902, in Silay, Negros Occidental. He was the son of a landowner and sugar baron. Ledesma received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Ateneo de Manila. In 1925 he received his bachelor 's degree in law from the University of the Philippines. In the same year, he was admitted to the Bar.[1]

In 1940, Ledesma was appointed mayor of Iloilo City by President Manuel Quezon. In December of that year, Ledesma was elected in a special election to replace Ruperto Montinola, who died in office, as representative of the 2nd district of Iloilo in the National Assembly. He was reelected in 1941 but was not sworn in until 1945 due to the Japanese occupation of the country during the Second World War. During that period, he joined the guerrilla movement. Upon the resumption of Congress after Liberation in 1945, he was reelected in 1946 and served in office until 1949.[2] In 1953 he joined the cabinet of President Ramon Magsaysay as his Secretary of Commerce and Industry. After Magsaysay's death in office in 1957 he resigned from the cabinet and successfully ran for the Senate as a Nacionalista candidate, serving until 1963.[3] In 1964, he was appointed by President Diosdado Macapagal as ambassador to the United States, serving until 1966. During his tenure, he was able to obtain a favorable quota for sugar exports to the US. In 1971, he was elected to the Constitutional Convention representing Iloilo.[1]

Ledesma was married to Juanita Javellana and died in his house in Quezon City after a long illness on December 17, 1995.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bernad, Miguel (1996). Oscar Ledesma. O. Ledesma and Co. Inc.
  2. "ROSTER of Philippine Legislators (from 1907 to 2019)" (PDF). House of Representatives of the Philippines. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  3. "Roster of Philippine Senators". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 29 September 2022.


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