Fidel Castro

Announced that he would resign as president and commander-in-chief (19 February 2008).

His brother Raul Castro is next in line to rule if he were to die. Raul has ruled Cuba as regent since Castro became ill in July 2006.

On 20 October 2004 he fell off a stage following a speech he gave at a rally. The fall fractured his knee and arm. He underwent three hours and 15 minutes of surgery to repair his left kneecap, which was fractured into eight pieces.

Lived with Celia Sanchez, an upper-class Cuban woman and devoted guerrilla leader, for almost 30 years. Sanchez, the love of his life, was also the only one who could disagree with him. Her death from cancer in 1980 was said to hurt him very hard.

Was impersonated by Jackie Wright on The Benny Hill Show (1969)

Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959-76 and President of Cuba since 1976.

Entering law school at the University of Havana in 1956, he became involved in the political culture there.

Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz was born in Birán, Holguin Province, Cuba, the fifth of nine children of Ángel María Bautista Castro y Argiz, a plantation owner originally from Galicia, Spain, who operated a plantation in Cuba's Oriente Province. His mother, Lina Ruz González, was a servant in his father's home who bore Fidel out of wedlock (they later were married several years after Angel's first wife died). Known as a rebellious, loud, and troublesome child, Fidel was sent to a Jesuit boarding school in Santiago de Cuba, where he was often teased by his wealthier classmates who called him a "peasant. " He later attended Belen College before enrolling at the University of Havana, where he earned a law degree. After graduating from the university, Castro briefly practiced law, before he went on to marry Mirta Diaz-Balart, a wealthy philosophy student with family ties to Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista. They had a son, Fidelito, but after 5 years, the couple divorce and went their separate ways. After several years in prison and exile (he lived in Mexico and New York City before starting the revolution) Castro led an attack on the Moncada barracks on July 26, 1953. The attack, which was a major attack on Batista's hold of Cuba, found Castro once again imprisoned before he was released.

Has one son from his first marriage, Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart (born on 1 September 1949), and an illegitimate daughter from his relationship with Natalia Revuelta Clews, wife of Orlando Fernández: Alina Fernández Revuelta (born on 19 March 1956). From his second marriage to Dalia Soto del Valle, he has five sons: Antonio, Alejandro, Alexis, Alex e Angel Castro Soto del Valle as well as a son by an unknown mother, Jorge Angel Castro.

While attending The University of Havana in 1946, he worked as an extra in several American films, including Holiday In Mexico (1946) and Easy To Wed (1946), both starring Esther Williams.

According to some reports he was born in 1927; however, due to the fact that he was too young to enroll at school, he changed his year of birth to 1926 so he could enter school (26 also happens to be his lucky number).

Born to Ángel María Bautista Castro y Argiz (5 December 1875-21 October 1956), an immigrant from Spain (Galicia) who became a prosperous farmer, and his later wife Lina Ruz González, a household servant. He had five older siblings from his father's first marriage with María Argota Reyes: Manuel (1913-14), María Lila Perfidia (born in 1913), Pedro Emilio (born in 1914), Antonia María Dolores (born in 1915) and Georgina de la Caridad (born in 1918) Castro Argota. From his parents' marriage, he had two older and four younger siblings: Ángela María (born on 2 April 1923, died in 2012), Ramón Eusebio (14 October 1924-23 February 2016), Raúl Modesto (born on 3 June 1931), Juana de la Caridad (born on 6 May 1933) (aka Juanita Castro), Emma Concepción (born on 2 January 1935) and Agustina del Carmen (28 August 1938-26 March 2017 Cuba) Castro Ruz, all born before wedlock.