Ernesto Che Guevara (1928-1967) was an Argentine-born central leader of the Cuban Revolution. Guevara was a Rebel Army commander during Cuba's 1956-58 revolutionary war; held central responsibilities in revolutionary government, including minister of industry and president of the National Bank; led volunteer internationalist columns in Congo 1965, Bolivia 1966-67; wounded, captured, and murdered by Bolivian army in CIA-organized operation.

Fidel Castro (1926-2016) - A student leader at the University of Havana from 1945. Founding member of the Orthodox Party in 1947 and central organizer of its revolutionary-minded youth.

Fidel Castro led the July 26, 1953, attack on the Moncada and Bayamo garrisons and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. Released in May 1955 after a mass amnesty campaign, he organized the founding of the July 26 Movement. From Mexico, Castro prepared the Granma expedition, which returned to Cuba in December 1956. He commanded the Rebel Army during the 1956-58 revolutionary war and from May 1958 headed the July 26 Movement.

Castro was prime minister from February 1959 to 1976, when he became president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers. He was commander in chief of the armed forces from 1959 to 2008 and first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from its founding in 1965 to 2011.