Benigno Aquino, Jr.

Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. (November 27, 1932 – August 21, 1983) was a Filipino politician who served as a Senator of the Philippines (1967–1972) and governor of the province of Tarlac. He was the husband of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and father of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III. Aquino, together with Gerardo Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition towards then President Ferdinand Marcos. Shortly after the imposition of martial law, he was arrested in 1972 along with others associated with the Communists' armed insurgency and incarcerated for seven years. He founded his own party, Lakas ng Bayan, and ran in the 1978 Philippine parliamentary election, but all of the party's candidates, including Aquino, lost in the election. In 1980, Aquino was permitted by Marcos to travel to the United States for medical treatment following a heart attack. He was assassinated at the Manila International Airport in 1983 upon returning from his self-imposed exile. His death catapulted his widow, Corazon, into the political limelight, and prompted her to successfully run for a six-year term as President as a member of the UNIDO party in the 1986 snap election.

Among other public structures, Manila International Airport has since been renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his honor, and the anniversary of his death is a national holiday.