Fidel Castro Revolution Anniversary Medal

Born Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz on 13 August 1926, the son of a wealthy Spanish farmer, Fidel Castro went on to study law at the University of Havana where he adopted leftist and anti-imperialist ideas. He participated in various rebellions and was imprisoned for a failed attempt to overthrow the Cuban president Batista in 1953. After a year’s imprisonment, Castro travelled to Mexico where he formed a revolutionary group, the 26th of July Movement, with his brother Raúl Castro and Ernesto “Che” Guevara and went on to play a key role in the Cuban Revolution which saw the overthrow of Batista in 1959 and Castro assuming military and political power as Cuba’s prime minister. He died on 25 November 2016, having been the longest serving non-royal head of state in the entire 20th and 21st centuries. He is pictured on this commemorative medal at different stages of his life, mostly smoking a Cuban cigar!