Who preceded Fidel Castro as political leader of Cuba?

Fulgencio Batista preceded Fidel Castro as Cuba's dominant political leader. Batista ruled Cuba as president from 1940 to 1944 and again as the country's authoritarian leader from 1952 until he was overthrown in 1959.

Batista first rose to power through the 1933 Revolt of the Sergeants, becoming the influential chief of the armed forces. He later won the 1940 presidential election under a new constitution. After spending years away from the presidency, he seized power in a 1952 military coup and canceled the scheduled election.

Castro's revolutionary movement challenged Batista's second government through guerrilla warfare and urban resistance. Batista fled Cuba on January 1, 1959, and Castro soon became the country's premier. The wording can cause confusion because several officials held formal office between Batista and Castro, including provisional president Anselmo Alliegro and President Manuel Urrutia. Nevertheless, Batista is the clear canonical answer for the political leader overthrown by Castro's revolution.