Lorenzo Sumulong

Lorenzo Sumulong (September 5, 1905 – October 21, 1997) was a Filipino delegate to the United Nations. It was his intervention to Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev during the 902nd Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly, held in New York in 12 October 1960, that resulted in Khrushchev famously banging his shoe on a desk. Sumulong's intervention presented below implied Soviet hypocrisy in condemning Western imperialism during a period in which the Soviets themselves were creating a bloc of puppet states in Eastern Europe.

Lorenzo is Miguel Sumulong's grandfather.

Biography

Sumulong was born in Manila, Philippines. He finished law at the University of the Philippines College of Law and went on to top the 1929 bar examinations. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent state. During the elections for the Philippine legislature that year, Sumulong was elected congressman. Having distinguished himself as an outstanding legislator, Sumulong was subsequently elected senator in 1949. He was re-elected thrice: in 1955, 1961, and 1969.

During his long stint as senator, Sumulong became well known as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accountability (also known as the Blue Ribbon Committee) that masterfully investigated national controversies such as the Tambobong-Buenavista Estate deal and the Harry Stonehill scandals. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee, he led a Philippine delegation to the United Nations General Assembly in 1960 where the famous "debate" with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev took place.

Sumulong was a member of the Constitutional Commission that drafted the 1987 Philippine Constitution. He died on October 21, 1997 at the age of 92.

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