Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart (1 September 1949 – 1 February 2018) was a Cuban

nuclear physicist Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies the ...

and government official. Frequently known by the

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Fidelito (little Fidel), he was the eldest son of Cuban leader

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 ...

and his first wife, Mirta Díaz-Balart.

Life and career

Castro Díaz-Balart's parents divorced in 1955, prior to the

Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...

in which his father seized power in the country. His mother moved to

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, United States, with the Díaz-Balart family, taking her son with her. Castro Díaz-Balart returned to Cuba as a child to visit his father, and remained there for the rest of his childhood. In 1959, he appeared as a 9-year-old during an interview with his father on U.S. television. Castro Díaz-Balart moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

(in what was then the

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), where he enrolled at Voronezh State University in 1968. For safety, he studied under the code name "José Raúl Fernández", which he claimed to have chosen in homage to world chess champion

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

and to have later used to publish 30 scientific publications. He initially studied

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before switching to

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

in 1970. He graduated from

Lomonosov Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

, and went on to work at the

Joint Institute for Nuclear Research The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR, ), in Dubna, Moscow Oblast (110 km north of Moscow), Russia, is an international research center for nuclear sciences, with 5,500 staff members including 1,200 researchers holding over 1,000 ...

Dubna Dubna ( rus, Дубна́, p=dʊbˈna) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. It has a status of '' naukograd'' (i.e. town of science), being home to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, an international nuclear physics research center and o ...

, and to receive his first doctorate from Lomonosov, in 1978. Returning to Cuba, he was placed in charge of Cuba's nuclear power program for a time, leading the Juragua Nuclear Power Plant construction program from 1980 to 1992, during which time he was also the executive secretary of the country's Atomic Energy Commission. He served as a member of the

Non-aligned Movement The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 121 countries that Non-belligerent, are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. It was founded with the view to advancing interests of developing countries in the context of Cold W ...

's Coordinating Countries for the Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, and was elected to chair the Second Meeting of that group in April 1983. Castro Díaz-Balart was removed from his positions in June 1992, following a falling out with his father, who cited "inefficiency" as the reason for the removal. Another reason for his removal is attributed to his failure to develop an atomic bomb for Cuba's military. Castro then announced the suspension of construction at Juragua in September 1992, due to Cuba's inability to meet the financial terms set by Russia to complete the reactors. Castro Díaz-Balart then returned to further his studies in Moscow, and received his second doctorate at the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy in 1999. In the 2010s, he returned to a level of prominence, serving as a scientific advisor to the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

, the governing body of Cuba, and as vice-president of the

Academy of Sciences of Cuba The Cuban Academy of Sciences (''Academia de Ciencias de Cuba'') is an official institution of the Cuban state, with headquarters in the National Capitol building in Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La ...

. Throughout his career, Castro Diaz-Balart authored articles on the developing role of nuclear energy. In 2012, Castro Díaz-Balart disputed reports that Fidel Castro was becoming senile, describing his father as "lucid" and "working hard", which was similar to the "upbeat assessment" of Castro's health that Castro Díaz-Balart made in February 2007, following Castro's illness during that period. In April 2014, he visited Russia to declare Cuba's recognition of the

annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation In February and March 2014, Russia invaded the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine, and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russ ...

, also receiving an honorary doctorate at Voronezh State University. In February 2015, during the Cuban thaw towards the end of the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...

, when Americans were more freely allowed to visit Cuba, he participated in events to welcome American celebrities to the island, mingling with

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and

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. The following month, he visited

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, Russia, meeting with the mayor, Anatoly Lokot, and regional governor Vladimir Gorodetsky to improve Cuban relations with scientific institutions in the region.

Family

Castro Díaz-Balart had three children – Mirta María, Fidel Antonio, and José Raúl – with Natasha Smirnova, whom he met in Russia. After divorcing Smirnova, he married María Victoria Barreiro from Cuba. U.S. Congressman

Mario Díaz-Balart Mario Rafael Díaz-Balart y Caballero ( ; born September 25, 1961) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Florida's 26th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party ...

, currently representing the 25th district of Florida, and former U.S. Congressman Lincoln Díaz-Balart were his maternal cousins.

Death

Castro Díaz-Balart died by

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

in Havana on 1 February 2018, at the age of 68. He had previously received outpatient care for depression. The report of his

by the Cuban government was described as "unusually public." Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart's first cousin Gabriel Díaz-Balart also died by suicide as a result of depression. "Fidelito" Castro Díaz-Balart was buried in the Central Colon Cemetery in Havana, in the tomb of the Academia de Ciencias, to the right of André Voisin.Miami Herald: September 19, 2014: Lincoln Diaz-Balart tells own story, help needed to prevent suicide
At his death he still held his positions with the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the Council of State.

Publications

*''Ciencia, innovación y futuro'' (Grijalbo: 2002) *''Energía nuclear y desarrollo: realidades y desafíos en los umbrales del siglo XXI'' (Colihue:1991) *''Espacio y tiempo en la filosofía y la física'' (Vadell: 1990) *''Ciencia, tecnología y sociedad: hacia un desarrollo sostenible en la era de la globalización'' (Editorial Científico-Técnica: 2003)

References

External links

Fidel Castro Díaz-Balart, “Fidelito”. History of Fidel Castro Ruz's first-born son
thecubanhistory.com; accessed 2 February 2018. {{DEFAULTSORT:Castro Diaz-Balart, Fidel 1949 births 2018 suicides 2018 deaths 21st-century Cuban scientists 20th-century Cuban scientists Fidel Diaz-Balart Fidel Suicides in Cuba Voronezh State University alumni Cuban politicians who died by suicide Moscow State University alumni Scientists from Havana Children of presidents of Cuba Children of prime ministers