Carlos Fernández Gondín

Carlos Fernández Gondín (1 July 1938 – 7 January 2017) was a Cuban politician. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba, and served as the country's Minister of the Interior from 2015 until his death.

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Fernández and the second or maternal family name is Gondín.
Carlos Fernández Gondín
Minister of the Interior of Cuba
In office
26 October 2015 – 7 January 2017
Preceded byAbelardo Colomé Ibarra
Succeeded byJulio César Gandarilla Bermejo
Personal details
Born(1938-07-01)1 July 1938
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
Died7 January 2017(2017-01-07) (aged 78)
NationalityCuban
OccupationPolitician
Known forCuban Minister of the Interior (2015–2017)

Career

Fernández Gondín was born in Santiago de Cuba into a working class family.[1] He joined the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces in 1958, which was led by Raúl Castro, and fought against Fulgencio Batista and later, against the United States in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.[2] He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965.[3] In 1975, Fernández Gondín helped Angola to gain independence from Portugal; he was one of the first Cubans to visit Angola, and was appointed second chief of the military mission there.[1] Fernández Gondín was a Major general and counterintelligence chief of the Cuban Army.[4][5] From 1989, Fernández Gondín was the First Deputy Minister, and in 1993, he became a representative of the National Assembly of People's Power, a role that he held until his death.[2][3][6] From 2015 until his death, he was the country's Minister of the Interior, replacing Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, who resigned for health reasons; Fernández Gondín had previously been the Deputy Interior Minister.[2][6][4] In 2015, Fernández Gondín met with then United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.[7] Fernández Gondín was awarded the titles "Hero of the Cuban Republic" and the Máximo Gómez Order.[3]

Illness

In 2015, Fernández Gondín was reported to have had a stroke, and in 2016, Fernández Gondín did not attend a 55th anniversary celebration for the Cuban Interior Ministry, due to ill-health.[8] Fernández Gondín died on 7 January 2017 from "complications of a long chronic disease."[2][6] On 10 January 2017, Julio César Gandarilla took over the role of Minister of the Interior.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Fallece a los 78 años ministro del Interior de Cuba, Carlos Fernández". El Sol de Mexico (in Spanish). 7 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  2. "Cuban Interior Minister Carlos Fernandez Gondin Dies". Prensa Latina. 8 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  3. "Fallece, a los 78 años, Carlos Fernández Godín, el ministro del Interior de Cuba". ABC (in Spanish). 8 January 2017. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  4. "Cuban Interior Minister Abelardo Colome Resigns for Health Reasons". Havana Times. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  5. Wiarda, Howard; Kline, Harvey (December 2013). Latin American Politics and Development. Westview Press. p. 357. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  6. "Cuba's Interior Minister Carlos Gondin dies at 78". Tass. 8 January 2017. Archived from the original on 10 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  7. "Cuba, US Agree on Need to Cooperate on Security". JP Updates. 29 October 2015. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  8. Cancio Isla, Wilfredo (7 June 2016). "Manto de silencio sobre Ministro del Interior de Cuba". WSCV (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  9. "Cuba Appoints New Interior Minister". Prensa Latina. 10 January 2017. Archived from the original on 11 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
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