Isidoro Malmierca Peoli
Encyclopedia
Isidoro Malmierca Peoli (September 25, 1930 – August 11, 2001), was Cuba
's foreign minister
from 1976 to 1992 and a founder of the Cuban Communist Party.
Born in Havana, he became involved in Cuba's turbulent left-wing politics as a young man, joining the tiny Popular Socialist Party
, the Moscow-line predecessor of the Communist Party
, during the years of right-wing regimes that preceded the 1959 revolution. The PSP had only a few thousand members, but was well-organized and had strong links with the urban unions.
The PSP at first played little part in Fidel Castro
's armed struggle against the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista
, which took place mainly in the countryside, and only threw its weight behind Castro's guerrilla campaign a few months before Batista finally fled the country. Until then, it had tended to denounce the young rebels' "adventurism."
Despite this background of mistrust, when Castro moved the revolution sharply to the left in the early 1960s he found a use for the PSP apparatus, and for young but experienced activists such as Malmierca, in giving a disciplined organizational underpinning to his embryonic regime.
Malmierca was one of the founders of the powerful state security apparatus — a role for which his lack of any discernible personality and reluctance to reveal even the most innocuous details about his personal life, must have been a positive advantage. He was also one of the functionaries who supervised the merger of the PSP with Castro's July 26 Movement to form the Cuban Communist Party in 1965.
In both of these functions, Malmierca had to balance the professional politicians and the young idealists who had followed Castro into the hills in the mid-1950s. He performed this difficult task well enough to earn advancement, becoming a member of the new party's central committee and being made editor of its official organ, the daily newspaper Granma
.
The high point of Malmierca's career as a faithful servant of the Cuban Revolution
came in December 1976, when he replaced the veteran left-wing intellectual Raúl Roa García
as foreign minister, and was also appointed vice-president of the council of ministers.
Malmierca remained at the foreign ministry until 1992, when he was succeeded by his deputy, Ricardo Alarcón. By that time, Malmierca was in poor health and he was given a relatively undemanding job that made use of both his journalistic experience and foreign contacts, as director of Tips-Cuba, an official information service for prospective foreign investors.
He died on August 11, 2001 in Havana from lung cancer
.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
's foreign minister
Foreign minister
A Minister of Foreign Affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the foreign policy of a sovereign state. The foreign minister is often regarded as the most senior ministerial position below that of the head of government . It is often granted to the deputy prime minister in...
from 1976 to 1992 and a founder of the Cuban Communist Party.
Born in Havana, he became involved in Cuba's turbulent left-wing politics as a young man, joining the tiny Popular Socialist Party
Popular Socialist Party (Cuba)
The Popular Socialist Party was a communist party in Cuba. Originally called the Communist Party of Cuba , it was formed in the 1925 by a group including Blas Roca, Anibal Escalante, Fabio Grobart and Julio Antonio Mella, who acted as its leader until his assassination in Mexico in 1929. It was...
, the Moscow-line predecessor of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, during the years of right-wing regimes that preceded the 1959 revolution. The PSP had only a few thousand members, but was well-organized and had strong links with the urban unions.
The PSP at first played little part in Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
's armed struggle against the dictatorship of General Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar was the United States-aligned Cuban President, dictator and military leader who served as the leader of Cuba from 1933 to 1944 and from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution....
, which took place mainly in the countryside, and only threw its weight behind Castro's guerrilla campaign a few months before Batista finally fled the country. Until then, it had tended to denounce the young rebels' "adventurism."
Despite this background of mistrust, when Castro moved the revolution sharply to the left in the early 1960s he found a use for the PSP apparatus, and for young but experienced activists such as Malmierca, in giving a disciplined organizational underpinning to his embryonic regime.
Malmierca was one of the founders of the powerful state security apparatus — a role for which his lack of any discernible personality and reluctance to reveal even the most innocuous details about his personal life, must have been a positive advantage. He was also one of the functionaries who supervised the merger of the PSP with Castro's July 26 Movement to form the Cuban Communist Party in 1965.
In both of these functions, Malmierca had to balance the professional politicians and the young idealists who had followed Castro into the hills in the mid-1950s. He performed this difficult task well enough to earn advancement, becoming a member of the new party's central committee and being made editor of its official organ, the daily newspaper Granma
Granma
Granma may refer to:*Slang for grandmother*Granma , a yacht in which Fidel Castro and his revolutionary expedition sailed to Cuba in 1956**CF Granma a Cuban football club...
.
The high point of Malmierca's career as a faithful servant of the Cuban Revolution
Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
came in December 1976, when he replaced the veteran left-wing intellectual Raúl Roa García
Raúl Roa García
Raúl Roa García was a Cuban intellectual, politician and diplomat. He served as Foreign Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. He was a lawyer and was also a university professor in the 1940s and 1950s...
as foreign minister, and was also appointed vice-president of the council of ministers.
Malmierca remained at the foreign ministry until 1992, when he was succeeded by his deputy, Ricardo Alarcón. By that time, Malmierca was in poor health and he was given a relatively undemanding job that made use of both his journalistic experience and foreign contacts, as director of Tips-Cuba, an official information service for prospective foreign investors.
He died on August 11, 2001 in Havana from lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
.