serviceyears branch death_date children allegiance birth_date term_end constituency death_place order term_start spouse image rank name predecessor birth_place party office successor religion primeminister article_title birth_name
1921 -- 1940 army august 6 , 1973 -lrb- aged 72 -rrb- 8 cuba cuba january 16 , 1901 1 january 1959 10 october 1944 10 march 1952 las villas marbella , spain 9th and 12th 10 march 1952 10 october 1940 2 june 1948 elisa miranda 1946 1973 ; his death godínez gómez 1926 1946 ; divorced marta fernandez batista25355a crop4.jpg colonel fulgencio batista carlos prío socarrás federico laredo brú banes , cuba independent 1947-1949 -rrb- united action party -lrb- 1949-1952 -rrb- progressive action -lrb- party -lrb- 1952-1959 -rrb- 1940-1947 -rrb- liberal party of cuba -lrb- president of cuba cuban senator anselmo alliegro ramón grau roman catholicism andrés núñez portuondo gonzalo güell carlos saladrigas zayas ramón zaydín anselmo domingo alliegro y milá carlos saladrigas zayas ramón zaydín anselmo alliegro jorge y milá garcía montes andrés rivero agüero emilio fulgencio batista
 fulgencio batista y zaldívar
fulgencio batista

fulgencio batista zaldívar -lrb- ; january 16 , 1901 -- august 6 , 1973 -rrb- was the elected president of cuba from 1940 to 1944 , and dictator from 1952 to 1959 , before being overthrown during the cuban revolution .
batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 `` revolt of the sergeants '' that overthrew the authoritarian rule of gerardo machado .
batista then appointed himself chief of the armed forces , with the rank of colonel , and effectively controlled the five-member presidency .
he maintained this control through a string of puppet presidents until 1940 , when he was himself elected president of cuba on a populist platform .
he then instated the 1940 constitution of cuba , considered progressive for its time , and served until 1944 .
after finishing his term he lived in the united states , returning to cuba to run for president in 1952 .
facing certain electoral defeat , he led a military coup that preempted the election .
back in power , batista suspended the 1940 constitution and revoked most political liberties , including the right to strike .
he then aligned with the wealthiest landowners who owned the largest sugar plantations , and presided over a stagnating economy that widened the gap between rich and poor cubans .
batista 's increasingly corrupt and repressive government then began to systematically profit from the exploitation of cuba 's commercial interests , by negotiating lucrative relationships with the american mafia , who controlled the drug , gambling , and prostitution businesses in havana , and with large us-based multinationals who were awarded lucrative contracts .
to quell the growing discontent amongst the populace -- which was subsequently displayed through frequent student riots and demonstrations -- batista established tighter censorship of the media , while also utilizing his bureau for the repression of communist activities to carry out wide-scale violence , torture and public executions ; ultimately killing anywhere from 1,000 to 20,000 people .
for several years until 1959 , the batista government received financial , military , and logistical support from the united states .
catalyzing the resistance to such tactics , for two years -lrb- december 1956 -- december 1958 -rrb- fidel castro 's july 26 movement and other nationalist rebelling elements led an urban and rural-based guerrilla uprising against batista 's government , which culminated in his eventual defeat by rebels under the command of che guevara at the battle of santa clara on new year 's day 1959 .
batista immediately fled the island with an amassed personal fortune to the dominican republic , where strongman and previous military ally rafael trujillo held power .
batista eventually found political asylum in oliveira salazar 's portugal , where he lived until dying of a heart attack on august 6 , 1973 , near marbella , spain .
