Fulgencio Batista

Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the military leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1940. He was a farm worker from eastern Cuba, and moved to Havana where he became a stenographer and a sergeant in the Army. He became a leader of a group of sergeants who wanted better pay, and ended up commanding the Army.

Fulgencio Batista
Batista in 1938
President of Cuba
In office
March 10, 1952  January 1, 1959
Prime Minister
  • Himself
  • Andrés Domingo
  • Jorge García Montes
  • Andrés Rivero Agüero
  • Emilio Núñez Portuondo
  • Gonzalo Güell
Vice PresidentRafael Guas Inclán
Preceded byCarlos Prío Socarrás
Succeeded byAnselmo Alliegro
Prime Minister
  • Carlos Saladrigas Zayas
  • Ramón Zaydín
  • Anselmo Alliegro
Vice PresidentGustavo Cuervo Rubio
Preceded byFederico Laredo Brú
Succeeded byRamón Grau
Prime Minister of Cuba
In office
10 March 1952  4 April 1952
PresidentHimself
Preceded byÓscar Gans
Succeeded byVacant
(1952 – 1955)
Jorge García Montes
(1955 – 1957)
Cuban Senator
In office
June 2, 1948  March 10, 1952
ConstituencyLas Villas
Personal details
Born
Rubén Zaldívar

(1901-01-16)January 16, 1901
Banes, Cuba
DiedAugust 6, 1973(1973-08-06) (aged 72)
Marbella, Málaga, Spain
Resting placeSaint Isidore Cemetery
Political party
  • Democratic Socialist Coalition (1939–1944)
  • Liberal Party of Cuba (1948–1949)
  • Unitary Action Party (1949–1952)
  • Progressive Action Party (1952–1959)
Spouse(s)
Elisa Godínez Gómez
(m. 1926; div. 1946)

Marta Fernandez Miranda (m. 1946)
Children9
Other namesFulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (full name from 1939)
Military service
AllegianceCuba Cuba
Branch/serviceCuban Army
Years of service1921–1940
RankColonel
Batista's soldiers executing a rebel by firing squad in 1956

Batista was President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944. In 1940 he won the election. He then became the country's leader from 1952 to 1959. In 1952 he did a coup. His authoritarian government during this time caused opposition despite his attempt to placate critics with a 'show' election in 1954 were he ran without opposition. The opposition included the entire coalition that had overthrown President Gerardo Machado. Fidel Castro's guerrilla movement overthrew Batista. This is known as the Cuban Revolution. Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959 and went to the Dominican Republic before moving on to Portugal, and finally to Spain where he died of a heart attack in 1973.

References



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