Emilio Núñez Portuondo (September 13, 1898, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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, U.S. – August 19, 1978, in

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

) was a Cuban politician, lawyer, and diplomat. He was the 13th

Prime Minister of Cuba The prime minister of Cuba (), officially known as the president of the Council of Ministers () between 1976 and 2019, is the head of government of Cuba and the chairman of the Council of Ministers (cabinet). The prime minister is the third-hi ...

in 1958. He received the National Order of the Legion of Honour of

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among other decorations from many countries.

Education and career

Dr. Núñez attended La Salle School in Cuba and graduated as doctor of civil and public law in 1919 from the

University of Havana The University of Havana (UH; ) is a public university located in the Vedado district of Havana, the capital of Cuba. Founded on 5 January 1728, the university is the oldest in Cuba, and one of the first to be founded in the Americas. Originall ...

. He served as a representative and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from the Las Villas Province and also as the Cuban

Minister Plenipotentiary An envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, usually known as a minister, was a diplomatic head of mission who was ranked below ambassador. A diplomatic mission headed by an envoy was known as a legation rather than an embassy. Under the ...

and Envoy Extraordinary to Panama,

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and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. He was secretary of the Constitutional Convention of 1940. Dr. Ramón Grau San Martín and Dr. Carlos Marquez Sterling were the presidents of the Constitutional Convention which drafted the

1940 Constitution of Cuba The 1940 Constitution of Cuba was implemented during the presidency of Fulgencio Batista on 10 October 1940. It was primarily influenced by the collectivist ideas that inspired the Cuban Revolution of 1933. Widely considered one of the most pro ...

. Dr. Núñez Portuondo served as the Cuban Permanent Representative with the rank of

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

in 1952–1958; and was also Minister of Labor under the interim president Dr. Andrés Domingo y Morales del Castillo in 1954. He served as president of the U.N. Security Council in September 1956 and 1957. He was Prime Minister of Cuba from March 6 to March 12, 1958. Dr. Núñez Portuondo is best remembered as the President of the UN Security Council during the Hungarian uprising in 1956. Dr. Núñez Portuondo helped József Cardinal Mindzenty of Hungary in assisting refugees into

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and the United States.

Family

Emilio Núñez Portuondo was the son of General Emilio Núñez Rodriguez, vice president of Cuba during the second administration of General

Mario García Menocal Aurelio Mario Gabriel Francisco García Menocal y Deop (December 17, 1866 – September 7, 1941) was the 3rd President of Cuba, serving from 1913 to 1921. His term as president saw Cuba's participation in the Allies in World War I. Early li ...

in 1917-1921, and who was also governor of Havana from 1899 to 1902 as well as Minister of Agriculture, Commerce and Labor 1913-1917. Dr. Núñez Portuondo's brother was the 1948 Cuban presidential candidate, Dr. Ricardo Núñez Portuondo. He was married three times and had four children, Emilio Núñez Blanco, Ricardo Núñez Garcia, Brunilda Núñez Fábrega and Fernando Núñez Fábrega, a former Minister of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Panama. His eldest son, Emilio Núñez Blanco, elected to the Cuban House of Representatives in 1958, though unable to take office, was the second husband of Mirta Díaz-Balart (the first wife of

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

). Emilio Núñez Portuondo is buried in Panama City next to his third wife, Panamanian, Olga Fábrega y Fábrega (married December 3, 1937).

References

* ''Los Propietarios de Cuba 1958'', Guillermo Jimenez Soler (Havana, Cuba: Editorial de Ciencias Sociales, 2007) * ''Cuba The Pursuit of Freedom'', Hugh Thomas (London, Great Britain:Eyre & Spottiswoode Ltd., 1971) SBN 413-27470-5 * http://www.amigospais-guaracabuya.org/oagrn007.php * * http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuban-rebels/NYT-11-1-58b.htm * http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20B11FB385B1B728DDDA80894DC405B848AF1D3

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez Portuondo, Emilio Cuban diplomats 20th-century Cuban lawyers Prime ministers of Cuba 1898 births 1978 deaths Cuban senators Members of the Cuban House of Representatives Permanent representatives of Cuba to the United Nations 1950s in Cuba 20th-century Cuban politicians University of Havana alumni Cuban anti-communists