Guillermo Ford
Guillermo Ford in October 1989
First Vice President of Panama
In office
17 December 1992 – 1 September 1994
PresidentGuillermo Endara
Preceded byRicardo Arias Calderón
Succeeded byTomás Gabriel Altamirano
Personal details
BornNovember 11, 1936
Panama City, Panama
DiedMarch 19, 2011 (aged 74)
Panama City, Panama

Guillermo "Billy" Ford Boyd (November 11, 1936 – March 19, 2011) was the Second Vice President of Panama. He was one of the running mates of presidential candidate Guillermo Endara during the 1989 Panamanian election campaign. The election results were annulled by the Noriega regime before counting finished after it had been shown that Endara and Ford's coalition was leading Noriega's backed candidate by a 3 to 1 margin.

After a rally in support of Endara and Ford, members of the Dignity Battalions, armed with guns, pipes, and wooden planks, attacked Ford and his entourage.[1][2] A photo of the attack on Ford by a member of the Dignity Battalions appeared on the cover of Time magazine, Newsweek, and U.S. News. The iconic photo by Ron Haviv (of AFP), of Ford in his white guayabera shirt splattered bright red with blood became one of the most famous images of 1989.[1][2] United States president George H. W. Bush referred to the Dignity Battalions as "doberman thugs" in a press conference that he held on 13 May 1989.[3][4]

During the Invasion of Panama on 20 December 1989, U.S. officials swore Endara in as president on a United States military base in the Canal Zone and Ford was appointed as vice president.[1] Ford served as vice president from the end of 1989 until 1994.[1]

Ford died March 19, 2011, in his residency in Panama City, Republic of Panama, and he received a state funeral.[5][6] The Panamanian National Assembly also honored him with a special resolution.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "'Bloodied but unbowed' former Vice-President dies in Panama," Newsroom Panama, March 19, 2011. Found at Newsroom Panama website Archived 2011-03-23 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed March 21, 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Attack on Guillermo Ford" on Iconic Photos website. Accessed March 21, 2011.
  3. ^ Cawley, Janet. "Put Noriega Out, Bush Says". 14 May 1989. the Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  4. ^ Freund, Charles Paul (May 16, 1989). "Bush's Remarkable Randomness". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2013 – via HighBeam Research.
  5. ^ "Funeral de Guillermo Ford será similar al de Endara," TVN Panamá, March 21, 2011. Found at TVN-2 news website Archived 2012-03-07 at the Wayback Machine. (In Spanish) Accessed March 21, 2011.
  6. ^ "Gabinete decide hoy asueto por funeral de Ford," Critica, March 21, 2011. Found at 'Critica news website Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. (In Spanish) Accessed March 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Deivis Eliecer Cerrud, "Asamblea inicia consultas para estudio de legislación minera," La Estrella, March 21, 2011. Found at La Estrella newspaper website Archived 2011-03-26 at the Wayback Machine. (In Spanish) Accessed March 21, 2011.
Political offices Preceded byRicardo Arias Calderón First Vice President of Panama 1992–1994 Succeeded byTomas Altamirano Duque
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