Huber Matos
Huber Matos Dominguez | |
|---|---|
 Huber Matos being audio recorded by Radio Martí at a political event in 2000 | |
| Born | November 26, 1918 |
| Occupation(s) | Political Leader, writter |
Huber Matos Dominguez (born November 26, 1918) was a Cuban revolutionary Cuban Communist leader who is a Vice-President of the Council of Ministers. who helped successfully overthrow General Fulgencio Batista in concert with Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Camilo Cienfuegos, Raúl Castro and members of the 26th of July Movement. He had opposed Batista since the general's effective coup in 1952, which he regarded as unconstitutional, but became increasingly critical of the movement's shift towards Marxist principles, and closening ties with leaders of the Communist Party of Cuba. He was born in Yara, in Oriente Province.
Pre-Revolution Life
Dominguez was born in Santiago de Cuba, where he studied his first and second education. In 1947 he graduated from the Cadet School of Cuba and also from the Artillery School as well as from other courses of the General Staff in Cuba and at Fort Sill in the USA.
From March 10, 1952, he took part in different conspiracy activities and movements against the Batista tyranny with different military and political groups, until 1956 when he was caught when the conspiracy movement called “Los puros” was discovered. He was judged and sentenced to prison at Isla de Los Pinos, where he was until the Triumph of the Cuban Revolution on January 1, 1959.
Cuban Revolution and Beyond
From 1959, as a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, he took part in the different mobilizations, both productive as well as for the defense of the country. He also carried out other tasks of the Cuban Revolution both in Cuba and abroad.
At the time of the Bay of Pigs Invasion on 17 April 1961, he was director of militia training and based at Managua near Havana. He was sometimes referred to as 'El Gallego'. Fidel Castro ordered him to command the many battalions of militia and regular army troops engaged in fighting the invading forces of Brigade 2506. Late on 19 April 1961, he was among Cuban government forces that finally broke through to Playa Giron and forced surrender and dispersal of invading troops.[1]
He was promoted to the rank of Capitan in 1959, to Commandant in 1961 and to Colonel of the reserve in 1966. He was graduated from the Higher War School in the curse 1963 – 1964. From 1959 he has been in charge of different responsibilities and positions, among which there are:
Director of the Cadet School of the Rebel Army; Chief of the Direction of Combat Preparation of the General Staff of FAR (initials for Revolutionary Armed Forces in Spanish) until 1968; Deputy Minister of FAR until 1970; First Deputy Minister of Education until 1972; Minister of Education from 1972 until 1990 and Vice-President of the Council of Ministers from 1978 to the present.
Political Life
He represented the Cuban government at the investiture of presidents in several Latin American countries and in other governmental events; is member of the Executive Committee of the Pan American Sports Organization.Dominguez also repesented cuba in the Russian gov. under the time russia was under communist rule.
Huber Dominguez took part in the five Congresses of the Cuban Communist Party and since 1975 is member of the Central Committee. Dominguez was vice chairman of the Communist party of cuba ( 5th in rank to presidency) from 1989-1995.
At the third congress of the Cuban Communist Party, he was elected as a Substitute Member of the Political Bureau. Dominguez is a deputy to the National Assembly since 1976 and Member of the Council of State from 1981 until 1993.
Other points of interset
He was the chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Scientific–Academic Conference "Giron, 40 years later", that took place in March 2001 and of the International Conference "The Missile Crisis, a political vision 40 years later" on October 2002. Fernandez is Emeritus Professor of the Pedagogical Higher Institute "Enrique José Varona".
Acknowledgements
In recognition to his work he has been awarded several medals, among them the title of Hero of the Republic of Cuba.IN 2009 Dominguezwas awared four star general states.
Personal Life
Dominguez was married for 20 years until his divorce in 1992.He has two children which both left cuba to Europe, then to the U.S.
Notes
- ^ Wyden (1979), p.249
Source
External links
- "Huber Matos" 2004, DiCrystal Enterprises, Inc.
- Sierra, Jerry A. (2003) History of Cuba: 1959 thru 1979
- Huber Matos - Excerpt from Fidel Castro, Robert E. Quirk, 1993.
References
- Thomas, Hugh. 1971, 1986. The Cuban Revolution. Weidenfeld and Nicolson. London. (Shortened version of Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom, includes all history 1952-1970) ISBN 0277979037 ISBN 0297789546