Quick Facts
Biography
Estefania Aldaba-Lim, Ph.D. (January 6, 1917 – March 7, 2006) was the first female secretary of any Cabinet of the Philippines, serving as Secretary of Social Services and Development from 1971 to 1977. She obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1942. She was also the first Filipino clinical psychologist.
She played prominent roles as the former assistant secretary general of the United Nations Children's Fund's International Year of the Child. Aldaba-Lim served as President of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.
Founder
In 1948 Aldaba-Lim set up the Institute of Human Relations at Philippine Women's University.
In 1994 she founded the Museo Pambata, an innovative children's museum, in the repurposed 1949 Manila Elks Club building in Manila.
United Nations
Ms. Aldaba-Lim became was the first woman to become Special Ambassador to the United Nations, with the rank of assistant secretary general during the UNICEF—UNESCO International Year of the Child in 1979.
She received the U.N. Peace Medal of the Third World, awarded by then Secretary General Kurt Waldheim.