Pedro Alejandrino del Solar

Pedro Alejandrino del Solar (1829–1909) combined law, science, and politics. He taught physics and astronomy at the Convictorio de San Carlos, qualified as a lawyer, and became a professor and dean of sciences at San Marcos. Parliamentary service and a Supreme Court appointment accompanied his teaching. He also directed La Patria, a newspaper associated with Nicolás de Piérola. ¹

During the War of the Pacific, del Solar became prefect and military commander in Tacna and fought at the Alto de la Alianza. He later held authority in Arequipa and the southern departments and served as Piérola’s justice minister. After the war he supported Cáceres against Miguel Iglesias and held the premiership on several occasions. ^{2, 1}

His diplomatic assignments included Washington and Spain, where he prepared Peru’s participation in the 1892 commemorations of Columbus’s voyage. A contemporary Washington directory lists him as absent minister, with José María Yrigoyen acting for the legation. Elected first vice-president in 1890, he was passed over when President Morales Bermúdez died in 1894 and the cabinet transferred power to the second vice-president, Justiniano Borgoño. Del Solar then supported the coalition against Cáceres. He subsequently returned to the Supreme Court, retiring in 1904. ^{1, 3}