ALBERT F. DEL ROSARIO
SECRETARY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Republic of the Philippines
The Honorable Albert F. del Rosario was born in Manila on November 14, 1939 and has worked for both the private sector and government. He attended Xavier High School in New York City and subsequently graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics.
Secretary Del Rosario’s business career spanned a vast field which included insurance, banking, real estate, shipping, telecommunications, consumer products, retail, pharmaceutical, and food industries, among others. He was member of the Board and director of various firms prior to entering public service as Philippine Ambassador to the United States in Washington D.C.
The Secretary’s experience in the private sector included positions as chair of Philippine Stratbase Consultancy, Inc. and Makati Foundation for Education; president of Gotuaco, Del Rosario Insurance Brokers, Inc. and Philippine Telecommunications Investment Corporation (PTIC); director in various companies and non-profit organizations, including the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation, First Pacific Company (Hong Kong), PT Indofood Sukses Makmur Tbk (Indonesia), Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Philex Mining Corporation, Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC), Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corporation (MPTDC), Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC), ABC Development Corporation (ABC 5), Asia Insurance (Philippines) Corporation, Philippine Cancer Society, Cultural Center of the Philippines Foundation, Incorporated (CCPFI); trustee of PinoyME Foundation, Inc.; member of the Asia Society’s International Council and of the Board of Governors of International Graduate University (Washington, DC). In addition, the Secretary headed the development of Pacific Plaza Towers, Metro Pacific Corporation’s signature project at Fort Bonifacio, Global City.
As Philippine Ambassador to the United States, he was instrumental in securing US$1.2 Billion U.S. funding assistance for the Philippines, bilateral cooperation in counterterrorism and peace and development in Mindanao, investments in the country’s Business Process Outsourcing industry, and greater access for Philippine exports. His enduring legacy which continues to benefit the Philippines includes the formation of the Philippines-US Congressional Friendship composed of over 80 legislators from the US House of Representatives, retaining the Philippines in the list of approved investment locations in the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), development of the Reform Program for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pioneering the Ambassadors/Consuls General Tour of the Philippines, and Bayan Ko-Bahay Ko Program.
In September of 2004, he was conferred the Order of Sikatuna, Rank of Datu by H.E. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for his outstanding efforts in promoting foreign relations. In early 2001, he received the EDSA II Heroes Award from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in recognition of his efforts in promoting Philippine democracy. He also received the Philippine Army Award from President Corazon Aquino for his initiatives as Chairman of the Makati Foundation for Education in 1991. He was elevated to the Xavier Hall of Fame in New York City in 2006.
Secretary del Rosario is married to Gretchen de Venecia. They have five children and six grandchildren.
