Fidel Rúz was born on August 13, 1926, on a farm in Mayari in Oreinte Province, Cuba. The illegitimate son of a sugar plantation owner (Ángel Castro, who formally recognized him upon marrying his mother seventeen years later), he first became involved in politics at the age of thirteen, when he organized a strike amongst the workers on his father's plantation. Though his mother was poor and illiterate, she was determined that he and his brothers, Ramón and Raúl, and sisters, Angela, Juanita, and Emma, should have a good education, and he was sent to a Jesuit boarding school where he became an enthusiastic student of history. Castro also enjoyed sports, and at the age of eighteen received an award for becoming the country's best all-around school athlete.

Castro went on to graduate as a lawyer at the University of Havana, but could scarcely afford to live, as he continually took on cases of people too poor to pay him. This made him aware of the extent of inequality within the country, and in 1947 Fidel joined the Cuban People's Party in an attempt to do something about it. He soon rose to prominence within the party, which was expected to win the national elections. But during the election, General Fulgencio Batista seized power. Convinced that the only remaining hope lay in armed revolution, Castro led an attack on his barracks. This ended in disaster and Castro narrowly escaped death, surviving only due to the moral compunctions of Batista's underlings, and because the weight of world opinion was on his side. Castro was imprisoned for two years and then exiled to Mexico, from whence he returned with Che Guevara to wage a guerrilla war against the Batista regime. The guerrillas were so popular with the people that the United States government, under President Dwight D Eisenhower, pressured Batista to hold elections and eventually to flee the country. Castro was declared president in 1959.

After coming to office, Castro set about establishing the first Communist state in the western hemisphere. He soon angered his supporters in the United States by nationalizing industries which had been largely American owned. He also began redistributing American owned land to peasants. Concerns were also expressed about his regime's human rights record and the strong line he took on matters which he considered immoral. However, schemes to assassinate Castro were unsuccessful, as was John F Kennedy's attempt to launch an invasion via the Bay of Pigs. Castro made a deal with the Soviet Union's Nikita Kruschev to acquire nuclear weapons. The ensuing Cuban Missile Crisis marked a turning point in the Cold War, with massive international implications. Thereafter the United States strove to isolate Cuba economically, a strategy which Castro attempted to counter by encouraging tourism.

Castro lives in Havana with his wife of over thirty years, Dalia Soto del Valle, by whom he has had five sons Ángel, Antonio, Alejandro (named after the Macedonian general whom Castro always admired), Alexis, and Alex. His daughter, Alina (the product of an affair with socialite Natalia Revuelta), fled Cuba in 1994 and now lives in exile in Spain. Castro was previously married to Mirta Díaz Balart, by whom he has one son, Fidel, known as Fidelito. The mother of his other son, Jorge Ángel, is unknown and is believed to be long dead. While undergoing medical treatment, Castro has handed the reins of power to his brother Raúl. He has recently undergone intestinal surgery but is said to be doing well.

YUDDY