Imelda Marcos

Imelda Remedios Visitación Trinidad Romuáldez- Marcos, is a Filipino politician and widow of the 10th President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, forming half of their so-called conjugal dictatorship. She is remembered as a symbol of the extravagance during her husband's twenty-year rule due to her collection of 2,700 pairs of shoes.

As First Lady, Imelda held positions in government that allowed her to travel the world and accumulate artwork and property. The couple consolidated their power allowing them to stow away funds from the Philippine treasury. Her husband and their family was eventually forced out of office as a result of the People Power Revolution but was later given amnesty after President Marcos' death.

Despite facing numerous cases involving alleged corruption during her time as First Lady, she has yet to be imprisoned and continues to wield power. After a brief exile in Hawaii, she ran for the House of Representatives in 1996 and was elected as a representative for Leyte and again in 2010 for Ilocos Norte in which she won. Her qualities of grace and beauty along with her ability to survive upheavals has led to her being called the "Steel Butterfly".