# Outstanding Diplomat José Agustín Fernández de Cossío Rodríguez Passes Away

**Date:** 03/08/2023

Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, José Agustín Fernández de Cossío Rodríguez, passed away last night in Havana, at the age of 89.

Fernández de Cossío Rodríguez had a distinguished career in service to the Homeland. He was involved in the underground struggle, where he actively participated in actions against the Batista tyranny. He was president of the FEU in the underground and founding member of the Revolutionary Directorate March 13, for whose combative actions he suffered imprisonment and torture at the hands of the tyranny. He was part of the Revolutionary Directorate expedition that landed in Nuevitas in February 1958.

After the Triumph of the Revolution, he held important leadership positions in the Ministry of Justice, the former State Committee for Economic Collaboration, and the Ministry of Tourism. He joined the Communist Party of Cuba in 1963.
He was a founder of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an organization where he came to hold the positions of Director and Vice Minister. He served as Ambassador to Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Japan, and carried out numerous official missions in other countries.

At the time of his death, Fernández de Cossío Rodríguez was working as a professor at the "Raúl Roa García" Higher Institute of International Relations, from where he contributed with his vast experience and revolutionary commitment to the training of the new generation of Cuban diplomats.
He held the status of Founder of the Party and numerous decorations for his service to the Revolution.