A meridional manganese(III) complex with tridentate 1-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-2-(salicylidenamino)ethane (H(2)L(6-5-5)), [Mn(HL(6-5-5))(2)]Br, has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystal structure analysis, electronic absorption spectroscopy, and variable temperature magnetic susceptibility. The manganese atom is coordinated in an elongated octahedral environment.