Batista y Zaldívar, Fulgencio

Batista y Zaldívar, Fulgencio (1901-1973), Cuban statesman, president of Cuba (1940-1944, 1952-1959), born in Banes. He joined the army in 1921 and in 1933 emerged as a leader in the overthrow of President Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, who had succeeded dictator Gerardo Machado y Morales earlier in the year. Under the first regime of President Ramón Grau San Martín, Batista became head of the army and as such gained control of the Cuban government; in 1934 he forced Grau to resign. Batista ruled through puppets until his election as president in 1940. During the four years of his term in office he effected several social reforms. In 1944, however, his chosen candidate for the presidency was defeated by Grau, and for the next eight years Batista remained in the background. In 1952, he seized power through a military coup, assumed the presidency, and suspended the constitution; he was ratified in office by a sham election in 1954. His dictatorial excesses led to several uprisings, most notably that of Fidel Castro, who finally overthrew Batista's government on January 1, 1959. Batista spent the rest of his life in exile and died in Spain.