November 18, 2009 - Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born August 13, 1926 ) is a Cuban politician, one of the primary leaders of the Cuban Revolution, the Prime Minister of Cuba from February 1959 to December 1976, and then the President of the Council of State of Cuba until his resignation from the office in February 2008.
He is currently the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. Castro was born into a wealthy family and acquired a law degree. While studying at Havana University , he began his political career and became a recognized figure in Cuban politics. His political career continued with nationalist critiques of Fulgencio Batista, and of the 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 an assault on Batista's Cuba . He and his fellow revolutionaries left Mexico for the East of Cuba in December 1956.
Castro came to power as a result of the Cuban revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, and shortly thereafter became Prime Minister of Cuba. In 1965 he 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. Castro has been portrayed as a dictator in spite of his disapproval of dictatorships.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 .
