Fidel Castro, 1950s. Public Domain.
After many years of violent conflict between Fidel Castro’s revolutionaries and the US-backed regime of Fulgencio Batista, the autocratic president was arrested by one of his generals who had arranged a secret ceasefire with Castro. Batista was allowed to flee into exile before he could be tried by the rebels. General Castillo attempted to organize a new government without Castro, resulting in his arrest by revolutionary sympathizers within the military. Castro’s forces occupied Havana and he appointed Manuel Urrutia Lleó to the presidency while he purged the government and reordered the economy. Though his governing was autocratic and resulted in many executions without trial, he remained immensely popular with most Cubans.
On February 16, 1959 Castro was sworn in as the prime minister of Cuba. He served as the head of the government until 2011.