Fidel Castro

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

141

Gender

Male

Birthday

1926-08-13

Day of death

2016-11-25 (90 years old)

Place of Birth

Birán, Cuba

Fidel Castro

Biography

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008. Ideologically a Marxist–Leninist and Cuban nationalist, he also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from 1961 until 2011. Under his administration, Cuba became a one-party communist state; industry and business were nationalized, and state socialist reforms were implemented throughout society. Born in Birán, Oriente, the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Castro adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas while studying law at the University of Havana. After participating in rebellions against right-wing governments in the Dominican Republic and Colombia, he planned the overthrow of Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, launching a failed attack on the Moncada Barracks in 1953. After a year's imprisonment, Castro traveled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Returning to Cuba, Castro took a key role in the Cuban Revolution by leading the Movement in a guerrilla war against Batista's forces from the Sierra Maestra. After Batista's overthrow in 1959, Castro assumed military and political power as Cuba's Prime Minister. The United States came to oppose Castro's government and unsuccessfully attempted to remove him by assassination, economic blockade, and counter-revolution, including the Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. Countering these threats, Castro aligned with the Soviet Union and allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, resulting in the Cuban Missile Crisis – a defining incident of the Cold War – in 1962. Adopting a Marxist–Leninist model of development, Castro converted Cuba into a one-party, socialist state under Communist Party rule, the first in the Western Hemisphere. Policies introducing central economic planning and expanding healthcare and education were accompanied by state control of the press and the suppression of internal dissent. Abroad, Castro supported anti-imperialist revolutionary groups, backing the establishment of Marxist governments in Chile, Nicaragua, and Grenada, as well as sending troops to aid allies in the Yom Kippur, Ogaden, and Angolan Civil War. These actions, coupled with Castro's leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1979 to 1983 and Cuba's medical internationalism, increased Cuba's profile on the world stage. Following the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, Castro led Cuba through the economic downturn of the "Special Period", embracing environmentalist and anti-globalization ideas. In the 2000s, Castro forged alliances in the Latin American "pink tide" – namely with Hugo Chávez's Venezuela – and formed the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. In 2006, Castro transferred his responsibilities to Vice President Raúl Castro, who was elected to the presidency by the National Assembly in 2008. Description above from the Wikipedia article Fidel Castro, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • Mentiras verdaderas

    Mentiras verdaderas

  • Explained

    Explained

  • Far from Vietnam

    Far from Vietnam

  • JFK

    JFK

  • The Boys from Brazil: Rise of the Bolsonaros

    The Boys from Brazil: Rise of the Bolsonaros

  • Memories of Overdevelopment

    Memories of Overdevelopment

  • Wasp Network

    Wasp Network

  • The War on Democracy

    The War on Democracy

  • La Case du siècle

    La Case du siècle

  • James Bond: The First 21 Years

    James Bond: The First 21 Years

  • ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium

    ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium

  • 638 Ways to Kill Castro

    638 Ways to Kill Castro

  • American Expose: Who Murdered JFK?

    American Expose: Who Murdered JFK?

  • Becoming Cousteau

    Becoming Cousteau

  • Island Ablazed

    Island Ablazed

  • On Company Business

    On Company Business

  • 8A

    8A

  • Soviet Union: The Rise and Fall - Part 2

    Soviet Union: The Rise and Fall - Part 2

  • The Man Who Saved the World

    The Man Who Saved the World

  • Castro in Winter

    Castro in Winter

  • I Am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth

    I Am Cuba, the Siberian Mammoth

  • Oswald's Ghost

    Oswald's Ghost

  • Memória Cubana

    Memória Cubana

  • Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film

    Reel Radicals: The Sixties Revolution in Film

  • Palme

    Palme

  • How to Become a Tyrant

    How to Become a Tyrant

  • South of the Border

    South of the Border

  • The Fog of War

    The Fog of War

  • Comandante

    Comandante

  • Another Day of Life

    Another Day of Life

  • Topaz

    Topaz

  • Ethel

    Ethel

  • The Day That Lasted 21 Years

    The Day That Lasted 21 Years

  • A History of an Assignment

    A History of an Assignment

  • Informe especial

    Informe especial

  • CBS Reports: The CIA's Secret Army

    CBS Reports: The CIA's Secret Army

  • Laboratory Greece

    Laboratory Greece

  • Naqoyqatsi

    Naqoyqatsi

  • Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live

    Lee Harvey Oswald: 48 Hours to Live

  • Waiting for Fidel

    Waiting for Fidel

  • Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

    Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

  • Rat Pack

    Rat Pack

  • The Adventures of Errol Flynn

    The Adventures of Errol Flynn

  • The Padilla Affair

    The Padilla Affair

  • Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

    Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)

  • The Inconclusive Independence

    The Inconclusive Independence

  • A Grin Without a Cat

    A Grin Without a Cat

  • The Century of Icons

    The Century of Icons

  • The Cuban Game

    The Cuban Game

  • JFK Assassination: A New Perspective

    JFK Assassination: A New Perspective

  • Faith of the Century: A History of Communism

    Faith of the Century: A History of Communism

  • El Che

    El Che

  • Being Fidel Castro

    Being Fidel Castro

  • The Uncompromising Revolution

    The Uncompromising Revolution

  • Cuba and the Cameraman

    Cuba and the Cameraman

  • Spycraft

    Spycraft

  • Hello Cubans

    Hello Cubans

  • Portrait of Castro's Cuba

    Portrait of Castro's Cuba

  • The Queen and the Prime Ministers

    The Queen and the Prime Ministers

  • Bobby Kennedy for President

    Bobby Kennedy for President

  • Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers

    Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers

  • Andança: Os Encontros e as Memórias de Beth Carvalho

    Andança: Os Encontros e as Memórias de Beth Carvalho

  • Chile: A Genral Record

    Chile: A Genral Record

  • Elián

    Elián

  • RFK Must Die: The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy

    RFK Must Die: The Assassination of Bobby Kennedy

  • Franco and Fidel: A Strange Friendship

    Franco and Fidel: A Strange Friendship

  • Amérique latine, l'année de tous les dangers

    Amérique latine, l'année de tous les dangers

  • The Society of the Spectacle

    The Society of the Spectacle

  • Minnesota Experience

    Minnesota Experience

  • General Idi Amin Dada

    General Idi Amin Dada

  • 7 Days in Havana

    7 Days in Havana

  • Yanki No!

    Yanki No!

  • Chavismo: The Plague of the 21st Century

    Chavismo: The Plague of the 21st Century

  • ¡Cuba Sí!

    ¡Cuba Sí!

  • Santiago Files

    Santiago Files

  • História do Comunismo

    História do Comunismo

  • The Hour of the Furnaces

    The Hour of the Furnaces

  • Cuba: In the Shadow of Doubt

    Cuba: In the Shadow of Doubt

  • Guerilleros

    Guerilleros

  • Cuban Rebel Girls

    Cuban Rebel Girls

  • Brascuba

    Brascuba

  • Castro's Revolution vs. The World

    Castro's Revolution vs. The World

  • Venceremos, solidaridad

    Venceremos, solidaridad

  • Cuban Rafters

    Cuban Rafters

  • Che Guevara, naissance d'un mythe

    Che Guevara, naissance d'un mythe

  • Cuba: Battle of the 10,000,000

    Cuba: Battle of the 10,000,000

  • General Assembly

    General Assembly

  • The First Year

    The First Year

  • Revolution's Daughter

    Revolution's Daughter

  • The Secret KGB JFK Assassination Files

    The Secret KGB JFK Assassination Files

  • 537 Votes

    537 Votes

  • Che Guevara - Hasta La Victoria Siempre

    Che Guevara - Hasta La Victoria Siempre

  • The Mayor

    The Mayor

  • Report on Brazil: Carlos Marighella

    Report on Brazil: Carlos Marighella

  • Cuba and Fidel

    Cuba and Fidel

  • CUBA: Defending Socialism, Resisting Imperialism

    CUBA: Defending Socialism, Resisting Imperialism

  • Muerte al invasor

    Muerte al invasor

  • Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn

    Tasmanian Devil: The Fast and Furious Life of Errol Flynn

  • Compromiso con Chile

    Compromiso con Chile

  • The Exploitation of Man by Man

    The Exploitation of Man by Man

  • Kubánske otázniky

    Kubánske otázniky

  • Nobody

    Nobody

  • El día más largo

    El día más largo

  • The CIA's War Against Cuba

    The CIA's War Against Cuba

  • Karl Marx und seine Erben

    Karl Marx und seine Erben

  • The JFK Conspiracy

    The JFK Conspiracy

  • Did the Mob Kill JFK?

    Did the Mob Kill JFK?

  • Jack Paar: Smart Television

    Jack Paar: Smart Television

  • Laissez-faire

    Laissez-faire

  • Improper Conduct

    Improper Conduct

  • Ernesto Che Guevara - Uomo, Compagno, Amico

    Ernesto Che Guevara - Uomo, Compagno, Amico

  • Looking for Fidel

    Looking for Fidel

  • Salvador Allende

    Salvador Allende

  • Fidel

    Fidel

  • Assassinating Franco

    Assassinating Franco

  • Cuba, un aller et un retour

    Cuba, un aller et un retour

  • El Diálogo de América

    El Diálogo de América

  • Anxiety. Thoughts of an Old Man

    Anxiety. Thoughts of an Old Man

  • The Necessary War

    The Necessary War

  • Cuba, el valor de una utopía

    Cuba, el valor de una utopía

  • Two Meetings and a Funeral

    Two Meetings and a Funeral

  • Mission Mind Control

    Mission Mind Control

  • Angola: The War

    Angola: The War

  • Celia - la más hermosa flor

    Celia - la más hermosa flor

  • My Brother, Fidel

    My Brother, Fidel

  • Fidel Castro: America's Nemesis

    Fidel Castro: America's Nemesis

  • Looking for Fidel

    Looking for Fidel

  • Lejos de la isla

    Lejos de la isla

  • Dear Fidel: Marita's Story

    Dear Fidel: Marita's Story

  • Chop Chop Chang: Operation C.H.I.M.P

    Chop Chop Chang: Operation C.H.I.M.P

  • Castro: The World's Most Watched Man

    Castro: The World's Most Watched Man

  • Historien ska frikänna mig

    Historien ska frikänna mig

  • And Heaven Was Taken by Storm

    And Heaven Was Taken by Storm

  • Chile, el gran desafío

    Chile, el gran desafío

  • Un Giorno con Fidel

    Un Giorno con Fidel

  • Fidel Castro no Rio de Janeiro, 1959

    Fidel Castro no Rio de Janeiro, 1959

  • Året var 1958

    Året var 1958

  • Fidel Castro: Life for the Revolution

    Fidel Castro: Life for the Revolution

  • I Am a Son of America

    I Am a Son of America

  • Fidel Racconta il Che

    Fidel Racconta il Che

  • Cuba 30 Anni Dopo

    Cuba 30 Anni Dopo