Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926) is a Cuban revolutionary leader who was prime minister of Cuba from December 1959 to December 1976 and then president until his resignation from the office in February 2008.
In late 1945, Castro entered law school at the University of Havana. He immediately embroiled in the political culture at the University, which was a reflection of the volatile politics in Cuba during that era.
Castro began his political life with nationalist critiques of Fulgencio Batista, and of United States political and corporate influence in Cuba. He gained an ardent, but limited, following and also drew the attention of the authorities. He eventually led the failed 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks, after which he was captured, tried, incarcerated and later released. He then traveled to Mexico to organize and train for the invasion of Cuba that took place in December 1956.
Castro came to power as a result of the Cuban revolution that overthrew Fulgencio Batista, and shortly thereafter became Prime Minister of Cuba. In February 1960, Cuba signed an agreement to buy oil from the USSR. When the U.S.-owned refineries in Cuba refused to process the oil, they were expropriated, and the United States broke off diplomatic relations with the Castro government soon afterward. To the concern of the Eisenhower administration, Cuba began to establish closer ties with the Soviet Union. A variety of pacts were signed between Castro and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, allowing Cuba to receive large amounts of economic and military aid from the USSR. The U.S. disappointment with their lack of power in Cuban fueled Castro's fears leading to increasing Cuban dependence on USSR support.
Displeased by the direction the Cuban government had taken, the U.S. began planning to overthrow the government of Cuba. On April 17, 1961, approximately 1,400 members of a CIA-trained Cuban exile force landed at the Bay of Pigs, while the U.S. publicly denied any involvement. The Cuban armed forces repelled the invaders, killing many and capturing a thousand.
Tensions between Cuba and the U.S. heightened during the 1962 missile crisis, which nearly brought the US and the USSR into nuclear conflict.
In 1965 Castro became First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and led the transformation of Cuba into a one-party socialist republic. In 1976 he became President of the Council of State as well as of the Council of Ministers. He also held the supreme military rank of Comandante en Jefe ("Commander in Chief") of the Cuban armed forces.
Following intestinal surgery from an undisclosed digestive illness believed to have been diverticulitis, Castro transferred his responsibilities to the First Vice-President, his younger brother Raúl Castro, on July 31, 2006.
On February 19, 2008, five days before his mandate was to expire, he announced he would neither seek nor accept a new term as either president or commander-in-chief, Finally, on February 24, 2008, the National Assembly elected Raúl Castro to succeed him as the President of Cuba. Fidel Castro remains First Secretary of the Communist Party.
Fidel Castro Fact Book
Here's a look at the life of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Birth date: August 13, 1926
Birthplace: Biran, Cuba
Birth name: Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz
Father: Angel Castro, a wealthy Spanish landowner.
Mother: Lina Ruz, a cook and maid to Angel Castro's first wife.
Marriage: Dalia Soto del Valle (date unknown - present); Mirta Diaz-Balart (October 12, 1948-1955, divorced)
Children: with Natalia Revuelta: Alina Fernandez Revuelta; with unknown woman: Jorge Angel Castro; with Dalia Soto del Valle: Antonio, Alejandro, Angel, Alexis, Alex; with Mirta Castro: Fidelito
Education: Colegio Dolores in Santiago de Cuba, 1942; Colegio Belen in Havana, 1945; University of Havana, doctorate in 1950.
Other Facts: Led the overthrow of the Batista dictatorship of Cuba in 1959.
Made Cuba the first Communist country in the Western Hemisphere.
Brought social reforms to Cuba, but was been criticized for oppressing human rights and freedom of speech.
During his time in office, thousands of Cubans sought exile in the United States.
Timeline 1947 - Castro participates in an unsuccessful rebellion in the Dominican Republic against Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo.
1952 - Castro runs for parliament. The government is overthrown March 10th, 1952, by Fulgencio Batista, and the elections are suspended.
July 26, 1953 - Castro and approximately 150 others attack the Moncada military barracks in Santiago de Cuba in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Batista regime.
October 16, 1953 - Castro is sentenced to 15 years in prison.
May 15, 1955 - Fidel and Raul Castro are released as part of a general amnesty for political prisoners. They go into exile, and spend 1955-1956 in the United States and Mexico. While in Mexico, they meet Argentine physician Che Guevara. The three organize a group of Cuban exiles into a new guerrilla group.
December 2, 1956 - Eighty-two exiles land in Cuba, on a yacht named Granma. Most are killed immediately. The survivors, including Guevara and the Castros, flee to the Sierra Maestra Mountains. During 1957-1958 they wage a guerilla campaign from this base, which includes skirmishes with government troops and burning sugar crops.
January 1, 1959 - Fulgencio Batista is overthrown by Castro's forces.
January 2, 1959 - Manuel Urrutia is named the new president. Jose Miro Cardona is appointed prime minister.
February 16, 1959 - Castro takes over as prime minister.
April 15-26, 1959 - Castro visits the United States.
May 8, 1960 - Cuba and the Soviet Union establish formal diplomatic relations.
September 1960 - Castro addresses the United Nations General Assembly.
April 17, 1961 - A group of approximately 1,300 Cuban exiles lands at Playa Giron (Bay of Pigs). Armed with U.S. weapons, they make an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Castro. Eventually, the survivors are released, in December 1962, in exchange for $53 million in food and medicine.
December 3, 1976 - Castro is elected president of the State Council. This new title replaces the posts of president and prime minister.
March 18, 1977 - President Jimmy Carter ends the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba.
April-September 1980 - Some 125,000 Cubans emmigrate to the United States. This exodus becomes known as the Mariel Boatlift.
April 19, 1982 - President Ronald Reagan reinstates the ban on U.S. travel to Cuba.
August 19, 1994 - President Bill Clinton announces an end to the U.S. "open door" policy on Cuban refugees, established by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. From now on, Cubans intercepted at sea will be repatriated, but those who reach land will be allowed to stay.
January 21-25, 1998 - Castro welcomes Pope John Paul II as the pontiff begins a historic five-day visit. This marks the first time a pope has ever visited Cuba.
December 13, 2000 - Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Castro in Cuba. They discuss trade issues and the estimated $20 million Cuban debt with Moscow.
June 23, 2001 - Appears ill during a speech and is helped from the podium.
Spring 2003 - Castro cracks down on dissidents, giving long sentences to 75 arrested activists.
October 20, 2004 - After delivering a speech, Castro falls while leaving the podium.
July 31, 2006 - A statement read on Cuban TV announces that Fidel Castro is undergoing intestinal surgery and has provisionally handed over power to his younger brother Raul. The arrangement is expected to last for several weeks while Fidel Castro recuperates.
June 3, 2007 - Castro is shown on Cuban TV standing and greeting a visitor.
October 29, 2007 - Castro publishes his autobiography "My Life" in Great Britain. The book is made up of a series of interviews done with journalist Ignacio Ramonet. The book is released in the U.S. in early 2008.
February 19, 2008 - Due to ailing health, Castro announces his resignation as president in a letter published in the middle of the night in the online version of Cuba's state-run newspaper, Granma.
December 4, 2008 - In an essay, writes that Cuba would be willing to talk withPresident Barack Obama's administration.
March 22, 2011 - In an essay published in Cuban state media, Fidel Castro writes that he resigned as head of the Communist party when he fell ill on July 31, 2006, and never tried to resume his position.
February 3, 2012 - Fidel Castro releases a two volume memoir of his life, "Fidel Castro Ruz: Guerrilla of Time," based on conversations with the journalist Katiuska Blanco.
October 22, 2012 - The Cuban government steps up efforts to prove Castro is still in good health. Former Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua claims to have met with Castro and shows reporters a photo of the two of them together. The state-run media also publishes an article under Castro's name where he denounces the rumors.
January 26, 2015 - A published letter purportedly written by Castro endorses the fledgling talks to restore diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States even though Castro still "doesn't trust" U.S. policies.
