Icon who helped topple a dictator dies

Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos, a US-trained ex-general who saw action in the Korean and Vietnam wars and played a key role in a 1986 pro-democracy uprising that ousted a dictator, has died at 94.

One of his longtime aides, Norman Legaspi, said that Ramos had been in and out of the hospital in recent years due to a heart condition and had suffered from dementia.

He died yesterday at the Makati Medical Center in metropolitan Manila, Legaspi said.

"He was an icon. We lost a hero and I lost a father," said Legaspi, a retired Philippine air force official who served as a key staff to Ramos for about 15 years.

The cigar-chomping Ramos, known for his visionary "win-win" outlook, attention to detail, a thumbs-up sign and firm handshake, served as president from 1992 to 1998.

He succeeded democracy icon Corazon Aquino, who was swept into presidency after a revolt toppled dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr, who was also a cousin of Ramos.

Ramos' term was marked by major reforms that triggered a rare economic boom, bolstering the image of the impoverished Southeast Asian country.

Ramos, whose calm bearing in times of crises earned him the moniker "Steady Eddie," graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1950.

"He leaves behind a colorful legacy and a secure place in history for his participation in the great changes of our country," Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said.