Jose V. Romero Jr.


Jose V. Romero Jr., also known as Joe Romero, was a Filipino statesman and diplomat.

Early life and education

Romero was born Jose Emeterio Romero y Villanueva Jr. on May 4, 1934 to José E. Romero and Elisa Zuñiga Villanueva. His father was the first Philippine ambassador to the Court of St. James's. His brother Eddie Romero was a National Artist of the Philippines for cinema. He was formerly married to Carmelita Beatriz Espina Corominas of Cebu and had three children. She is the niece of Anita Corominas-Guerrero, wife of León María Guerrero III who succeeded José E. Romero as Philippine ambassador to the Court of St. James's.
Romero obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees in history and economics from Trinity College, Cambridge. He did postgraduate work in economics at Georgetown University and obtained a doctorate degree in development management from the University of Asia and the Pacific.

Professional career

Upon Romero's return from his studies at Cambridge, he worked as an economist at the Department of Economic Research of the Central Bank of the Philippines. He was later the director-general of the Congressional Economic Planning Office of the Philippine House of Representatives during the speakerships of José Laurel Jr. and Cornelio Villareal. He was executive director of the United Coconut Authority of the Philippines in the mid-1960s and served as president of the Philippine Economic Society from 1971 to 1972.
In 1981, he co-founded the Makati Business Club together with Enrique Zobel, Rogelio Pantaleon and Bernardo Villegas.
During the presidency of Corazon Aquino, he served simultaneously as chairman of the Philippine Coconut Authority and undersecretary of the Department of Agriculture. He later served as board member of United Coconut Planters Bank and president of the Coconut Investment Fund Management Company.
Romero was later appointed Philippine ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Italy. While chief of mission to Rome, he was also the executive director of the Common Fund for Commodities and permanent representative to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.
Romero served as a professorial lecturer and long-time trustee of the University of Asia and the Pacific and the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication. He also lectured at various times at the Ateneo de Manila University, the Asian Social Institute, St. Paul University Dumaguete and Silliman University. He was formerly the business editor and assistant publisher of the Manila Bulletin and contributed to the Financial Times and The Manila Times. He was also president of the Philippine Ambassadors Foundation, Inc., an association of active and retired diplomats in the Philippines.
At the time of his death, he was chairman of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations.

Death

He died, at 84, on 10 September 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland while visiting family.