Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado

Cuban politician. Prosperous lawyer, intelligent and competent. Recognized in the Cuban capital, he was a fervent fighter against Batista and became president of Cuba.

He studied law at the Universidad de la Habana. In 1948 he joined the Partido Comunista, where he worked as a legal advisor and, through the party, ran in municipal elections. He later led the revolutionary movement against Batista in Cienfuegos, but was detained.

He fled to Mexico, where he remained until 1959 when the revolution commanded by Fidel Castro triumphed, at which point he decided to return to the island.

He was President of the Republic of Cuba from 1959-1976, reaching this position following the resignation of President Manuel Urrutia Lleó, which occurred on July 18, 1959.

He simultaneously held, for years, the position of President of the Central Planning Board (Ministry of Economy) and also Minister of Justice. He was part of the first Revolutionary Government of Cuba, in January 1959, as Minister of Proceedings and Study of Revolutionary Laws with a distinguished professional record and active participation in the struggle against the Batista dictatorship and as such helped formulate Cuban policies.

He was born in Cienfuegos in the bosom of a respected and wealthy family which allowed him to study without economic hardship.

He was a leader of secondary school students in his locality and at just 14 years old became part of the Left-Wing Student Movement that confronted the tyranny of Gerardo Machado and was part of the Strike Committee in 1935. During his time as a law student at the Universidad de La Habana he fought against the first dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista.

Graduated in 1941, in addition to practicing his profession he was a delegate of the Colegio de Abogados de Cienfuegos, vice president and president of the national entity.

In 1948 he joined the Partido Comunista, where he worked as a legal advisor and, through the party, ran in municipal elections. He later led the revolutionary movement in Cienfuegos, but was detained. He confronted the military coup of March 10, 1952; a clandestine fighter, he was detained on several occasions.

He was coordinator of the Movimiento 26 de Julio in his hometown and after the insurrection of Cienfuegos, on September 5, 1957, he was arrested again. The Colegio de Abogados secured his release and he then went into exile in Mexico where he remained until January 1, 1959, at which point he decided to return to the island.

When Manuel Urrutia resigned he assumed the presidency of the Republic. Along with his presidential duties, on July 21, 1964 he began to direct the Central Planning Board.

In 1976 the National Assembly of the People's Power designated him vice president of the Council of Ministers and member of the Council of State.

In January 1980 he was ratified in these positions and also assumed the Ministry of Justice and the management of the functions of the State Normalization Committee and the System of Arbitration Bodies.

He was a deputy to the National Assembly and member of the Central Committee and Political Bureau of the Partido Comunista de Cuba.

On June 23, 1983 he took his own life with a gunshot at a time when he was experiencing great deterioration in his health, combined with the death of his wife María de la Caridad Molina. He was a victim of painful physical ailments resulting from a serious condition of the spine. On July 10, 1975 he had undergone surgical intervention in the lumbar region.

The Cuban people, accompanying his remains to the Cementerio de Colón, paid tribute to who was, without a doubt, the most honest, hardworking and revolutionary President of the Republic.