Lorenzo Sumulong

Lorenzo Sumulong Sr. (September 5, 1905 – October 21, 1997) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served in the Philippine Senate for four decades, and as a delegate of his country to the United Nations. He was noted for having engaged in a debate with Nikita Khrushchev at the United Nations General Assembly that (allegedly) provoked the Soviet Union Premier to bang his shoe on a desk.

Early life and education

Sumulong was born in Antipolo, Rizal on September 5, 1905 to politician Juan Sumulong and Maria Salome Sumulong. He was the third among eleven siblings; his younger sister Paz attempted to run for the Rizal provincial board under the Liberal Party in 1963 and 1967, but failed to be elected both times. He finished law at the University of the Philippines College of Law and went on to top the 1929 bar examinations.

Khrushchev was incensed by Sumulong's remarks. He denounced the Filipino senator as "a jerk, a stooge and a lackey of imperialism". Khrushchev then took out his shoe, waved it at Sumulong, then banged the shoe on the desk in front of him. The following day, Khrushchev acknowledged that he had offended Sumulong but also asserted that he was likewise offended by the delegate from the Philippines.

Later life

thumb|right|Sumulong from the Official Directory of the Constitutional Commission, |220x220px

Sumulong's service in Congress ended in 1972, with the abolition of the Philippine Senate upon the declaration of martial law by President Ferdinand Marcos. In 1987, President Corazon Aquino named her maternal uncle Lorenzo (sister was Demetria Sumulong Cojuangco) to the Philippine Constitutional Commission of 1986 that drafted the 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Lorenzo is the father of Victor Sumulong, who served as congressman and mayor of Antipolo during the Estrada and Arroyo administrations.

Personal life

Sumulong was married to Estrella Rodriguez and had six children. By way of Francisco Sumulong (born 1695), Sumulong is the fifth cousin thrice removed of Senator Jose W. Diokno, a descendant of Doña Demetria Sumulong y Lindo who moved from Antipolo to Daraga, Albay and Governor-General Felix Berenguer de Marquina.

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