Leticia Valdez Ramos-Shahani (September 30, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was a Filipina senator, diplomat, and writer. She was the younger sister of Fidel V. Ramos, the 12th president of the Philippines. Early life She was born on September 30, 1929, in Lingayen, Pangasinan and grew up in Asingan town along with his brother, former President Fidel V. Ramos. Her father, Narciso Ramos (1900–1986), was a lawyer, crusading journalist and five-term legislator at the House of Representatives, who eventually became Secretary of Foreign Affairs. As such, Narciso Ramos was the Philippine signatory to the ASEAN declaration forged in Bangkok in 1967 and was one of the founder of the Liberal Party. He was of the Ramos clan that has roots in Asingan, Pangasinan. Her mother, Angela Valdez-Ramos (1905–1978), was an educator, suffragette and daughter of the prominent Valdez clan of Batac, Ilocos Norte, making her a second degree cousin of Ferdinand Marcos, the 10th President of the Philippines. Education Ramos-Shahani finished her elementary and secondary level education at the University of the Philippines. She finished her Bachelor of Arts in English literature at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and her master's degree in comparative literature at Columbia University in New York. She earned her Doctor of Philosophy in comparative literature at the University of Paris (Sorbonne) after defending her doctoral thesis with highest honors. She was a former dean of the Graduate School of Lyceum of the Philippines. She taught English literature, French, Spanish, comparative literature, humanities, social psychology and others. She was former member of the faculty of the University of the Philippines from 1954 to 1957, Queens Borough Community College, New York in 1961, Brooklyn College, New York in 1962 and New School for Social Research, New York from 1962 to 1967. She was also the former dean of the College of International, Humanitarian, and Development Studies of Miriam College. Political career Early diplomatic career After passing the Philippine Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examination, Ramos-Shahani held various high positions such as Ambassador to Australia from August 1978 to December 1980; UN Assistant Secretary-General for Social and Humanitarian Affairs from 1981 to 1986; and Secretary-General of the World Conference on the UN Decade of Women in Nairobi, Kenya in 1985. As Ambassador, she travelled extensively around Australia and was the first Philippine envoy to Australia to visit the Northern Territory. Under her watch, the Australian-Philippines Friendship Society was formally organized