(born Aug. 31, 1907, Iba, Phil.—died March 17, 1957, near Cebu) President of the Philippines (1953–57). Son of a Malay artisan, he was a schoolteacher before becoming a guerrilla leader during World War II.
In 1950, as secretary of defense, he launched one of the most successful antiguerrilla campaigns in modern history, against insurgents of the Hukbalahap Rebellion. He deprived them of popular support by offering peasants land and tools and insisting that the army treat them with respect. By 1953 the Huks were no longer a threat, and Magsaysay was elected president. His efforts at reform were frustrated by a conservative Congress. He was killed in a plane crash before the end of his term.
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