Fidel Castro
Former Prime Minister and President of Cuba (deceased)
Fidel Castro led Cuba from the 1959 Revolution until 2008, shaping the country's one-party socialist system, its alliance with the Soviet Union, and its confrontation with the United States.
Quick facts
- Role: Former Prime Minister and President of Cuba (deceased)
- Spanish title: Primer Ministro (1959–1976); Presidente (1976–2008)
- Born: 1926-08-13 — Birán, Holguín, Cuba
- Nationality: Cuban
- Sanctioned by OFAC: No
Biography
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (1926-2016) led Cuba for nearly five decades — as Prime Minister (1959-1976) and then as President of the Council of State (1976-2008). He founded the revolutionary movement that overthrew the Batista dictatorship, aligned Cuba with the Soviet Union, survived the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis, and built the one-party socialist state that persists today.
Castro stepped down from formal power in 2006-2008 due to ill health, handing the presidency and eventually the PCC leadership to his brother Raúl. He died on 25 November 2016.