Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo became the 14th president of the Philippines on 20 January 2001. She is the daughter of the late President Diosdado Macapagal who served as a reform president from 1961 to 1965 and was fondly known as the "poor boy from Lubao".

Gloria attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC and was a classmate of former U.S. President Bill Clinton. She graduated magna cum laude from Assumption College and later earned a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of the Philippines. Before embarking on a political career, she was a teacher at Assumption College, an Assistant Professor at the Ateneo de Manila University, and a Senior Lecturer at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Macapagal-Arroyo entered government service as an Assistant Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry and later became Executive Director of the Garments and Textile Export Board, steering the garments industry to become the top net dollar earner for the country. She was elected as Senator during her first try in politics in 1992. She was re-elected Senator in 1995 with nearly 16 million votes, the highest number of votes in Philippine history. During her tenure in the Senate, she authored 55 laws on economic and social reform and was named outstanding Senator several times.

In 1998 she was elected Vice President of the Philippines with almost 13 million votes, the largest mandate in the history of any presidential or vice presidential election. She was an outspoken critic of President Joseph Estrada who faced serious corruption allegations. Following street demonstrations, the Supreme Court ruled that President Estrada no longer effectively controlled the government and declared the position of president vacant. Macapagal-Arroyo was sworn in as the 14th president of the Philippines on January 20, 2001. She is the second woman to be swept into the presidency by a peaceful People Power revolution.

President Macapagal-Arroyo is married to lawyer-businessman Jose Miguel Tuason Arroyo. They have three children, Mikey, Luli, and Dato.                                                                                     

See Wikipedia Biography