Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz best known as Fidel Castro was prime minister of Cuba since 1959-1976 and then president of Cuba since 1976-2008. He take the power off Fulgencio Batista´s dictatorship.
He first stand out in 1953 after the attack to Moncada barrack´s in which he was taken prisoner and convicted for 15 years, but after only 22 months he was released due to the public pression in a public pardon on may 1955. He went to exile first in USA and finally in Mexico where he planned the guerrilla invasion in 1956. He finally took power after heading the Cuban revolution on January 1st of 1959. Then on February 27th he was named prime minister by the president Manuel Urrutia.
In 1961 he lead the adoption of the marxism as the economic system of the island establishing the first socialist state of America. Finally after the constitutional reform in 1976 he was elected as president, position he held untill 2008 when he decided not to stand for the elections and left the presidency to his brother Raul.
During his mandate he kept a confrotation with United States reaching his maximum point during the missile crisis in which he planned to held missiles from Cuban ally, the Soviet Union in the island trying this way to protect the socialism reigning in the island from the USA.