Torrijos Herrera, Omar (1929–1981)

Panamanian soldier and political leader, dictator 1968–78. In 1972 he was declared ‘maximum leader’ for a six-year term by an elected assembly, which granted him full civil and military powers for six years while a civilian figurehead occupied the presidency. In 1977 he negotiated a new Panama Canal treaty with US President Jimmy Carter, providing for the canal's eventual transfer to Panamanian control.

In 1978 he decided not to run for the presidency, enabling Arístides Royo Sánchez to become president. However, he remained leader of the national guard and thus effectively controlled the regime until his death, in a plane crash, in 1981.

Born in Santiago, the son of schoolteachers, he became a professional soldier. As a lieutenant colonel in the national guard, he led the 1968 coup that ousted President Arnulfo Arias, and became the country's effective ruler. Torrijos became a brigadier general in 1969 and, ruling by decree, introduced corporatist economic and social reforms, including land expropriation, and enlarged the public sector. He also banned political parties and imprisoned opponents.