He was born in Currimao, Ilocos Norte on May 27,1911. His parents were Bernabe Lopez and Segunda Sinang Lopez. He graduated from the University of the Philippines with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy in 1931 and Master of Arts degree, also in philosophy, in 1933.

From 1933 to 1936, he taught literature and journalism at the University of Manila. He also found time to have a family. Lopez was married on March 24,1936 to Maria Luna of Manila.

When the war came, he joined the USAFFE in Corregidor. He was commissioned 1st lieutenant on the staff of General Douglas McArthur, in the public relations section, where he served as copy and scriptwriter.

Upon General Carlos P. Romulo's departure for the United States, Lopez became acting executive officer of the press relations section under Major Kenneth F. Saur, who succeeded Romulo. As chief of that section, Lopez did an excellent job of helping maintain the morale of the Filipino people and the troops on the front. A few days before enemy troops took over the island bastion, he was ordered to take the last plane out of Corregidor bound for Mindanao, where he served on the staff of then Brigadier-General Manuel Roxas in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. He was active as a member of Marking's Guerillas.

After the liberation of the Philippines, he was detailed as chief of the historical section at the Philippine Army headquarters.

S.P. Lopez was able to find time to have a family after the war in 1946, when he was also tapped for the Foreign Service. He served as senior adviser to the Philippine mission to the United Nations, where he acted as chairman of various bodies, including the Commission on Human Rights. He was also elected to the UN Economic and Social Council as reporter on matters relating to freedom of information. He was among those who drafted the UNESCO charter noted for its pioneering declaration on freedom of information. He served as ambassador to France from 1955 up to 1962, when he was appointed undersecretary of foreign affairs.

He also served as ambassador to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. He assumed the post of foreign affairs secretary from 1963 to 1964. As such, he was one of the architects of the regional accord, better known as Maphilindo, which were Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia. It would be the springboard for the founding, years later, of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN. For four years, from 1964 to 1968, he was the country's permanent representative to the United Nations. In 1968, he served concurrently as ambassador to the United States.

"S.P." Lopez, as friends and associates fondly called him, was elected as the 11th president of the University of the Philippines on January 23, 1969. It was during his presidency that UP students were politically radicalized, launching mass protests, from the so-called "First Quarter Storm" in 1970 to the "Diliman commune" in 1971, during which classes were suspended for nine days. It can be said that in those tumultuous times, Lopez succeeded in keeping the university together with his leadership.

He was UP president until 1975, when he retired to write his memoirs while teaching part-time and growing orchids. He once said that being UP president was the job he loved most.

From 1980 to 1991, Lopez served as chairman of the Asian Institute of Journalism's board of trustees. On October 8, 1993, the AIJ paid him tribute by awarding to him the Go Puan Sent professorial chair in development journalism.

In 1986, he was recalled to the Foreign Service to represent the Philippines in the UN once more. He returned in 1988 to serve concurrently as ambassador in the department of foreign affairs and consultant in the office of the vice president of the Philippines. He resigned as ambassador in 1989, but continued as consultant in the OVP.

S.P. died of heart attack on October 18, 1993 and was mourned by many Filipinos, especially in the media realm. He is survived by his second wife, Adelaida Escobar Lopez, and his daughters by his first wife Rosemary Lopez Rocha and Laura Lopez-Lising and stepdaughter, Eternity Dizon.

Excerpts from Filipinos in History Vol. IV, pp.192-194, National Historical Institute 1994.