Salvador del Solar

Salvador del Solar is a Peruvian actor, screenwriter, and film director born in Lima on 1 May 1970. He initially studied law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, graduating in 1994, before abandoning his legal career to pursue acting after one year. He trained in Alberto Ísola's acting workshop and appeared in multiple national classical theatre productions and three television series directed by Luis Llosa. His breakthrough came in 2000 when he portrayed Captain Pantaleón Pantoja in the film adaptation of Mario Vargas Llosa's novel *Captain Pantoja and the Special Services*, directed by Francisco J. Lombardi—a role that earned him international recognition. The film was submitted as Peru's entry for the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film category but did not receive a nomination. After this success, del Solar relocated to New York to pursue a master's degree in international relations at Syracuse University, then continued acting across television productions in Peru, Colombia, and Mexico. He appeared in *The Vanished Elephant* in 2013 and transitioned to directing, debuting as a film director in 2014 with *Magallanes*, followed by *Ramón and Ramón*, which premiered at the 72nd San Sebastian International Film Festival in 2024. Born under the Taurus sign, del Solar embodies the determined, pragmatic energy typical of that sign. As a screenwriter and actor, he has navigated both creative production and performance across multiple mediums. His political career began when President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski appointed him Minister of Culture on 5 December 2016. During his one-year tenure, he championed Peruvian cinema and restored prominent museums, but resigned on 27 December 2017 in protest of Kuczynski's pardon of former President Alberto Fujimori. President Martín Vizcarra then appointed del Solar as Prime Minister on 11 March 2019, following César Villanueva's resignation. As Prime Minister, he navigated escalating tensions between the executive and Congress, ultimately resigning on 30 September 2019 following Vizcarra's constitutional dissolution of Congress. Del Solar is the first Peruvian politician to have a major career in film and acting, and the youngest prime minister in Peruvian history.