Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy QSC CCLH was a Filipino revolutionary, statesman, and military leader who is officially recognized as the first and the youngest president of the Philippines and the first president of a constitutional republic in Asia. He led Philippine forces first against Spain in the Philippine Revolution, then in the Spanish–American War, and finally against the United States during the Philippine–American War.
Aguinaldo remains a controversial figure in Filipino history. Though his status as first president of the Philippines has led to his being recommended as a national hero of the Philippines, many have criticized him for his involvement in the deaths of revolutionary leader Andrés Bonifacio and general Antonio Luna, as well as his sympathies for the Japanese Empire during their occupation of the Philippines in World War II.