Manuel Solis

Manuel Solis, who died on 6 November aged 91, served briefly as president of Panama during Manuel Noriega's military regime.

Solis served as education minister during the military regime dominated by Noriega and then was named acting president in February 1988 after President Eric Arturo Del Valle was fired. He ruled until 1 September 1989.

Mitchell Doens, the secretary general of the Democratic Revolutionary Party to which Solis belonged, said Solis fought for Panama's sovereignty and led the movement in the 1940s against the American military presence in the Central American country, where the US built and ran the Panama Canal for generations. His brief term as president ended with the US invasion that deposed Noriega.

Solis went on to serve as education minister from 2004-2009 in Martin Torrijos's administration.