Anselmo Alliegro y Milá

Anselmo Alliegro y Milá
Public domain · source
Name	Anselmo Alliegro y Milá
Office	Interim President of Cuba
Term start	1 January 1959
Term end	2 January 1959
Predecessor	Carlos Manuel Piedra
Successor	Manuel Urrutia Lleó
Birth date	8 March 1899
Birth place	Yaguajay, Cuba
Death date	22 November 1961 (aged 62)
Death place	Miami, Florida, U.S.
Party	Liberal Party of Cuba
Otherparty	Democratic Party
Spouse	María de los Ángeles Cárdenas
Alma mater	University of Havana
Profession	Politician, lawyer

Anselmo Alliegro y Milá was a Cuban lawyer and politician who served as the interim president of Cuba for a single day in January 1959 during the chaotic transition following the Cuban Revolution. A veteran figure in the pre-revolutionary political establishment, his career was defined by his association with the governments of Fulgencio Batista and his leadership within the Liberal Party of Cuba. His brief assumption of the presidency, following the flight of Batista and a short-lived military junta, was immediately superseded by the revolutionary forces led by Fidel Castro.

Early life and education

Anselmo Alliegro y Milá was born on 8 March 1899 in Yaguajay, Cuba, in the former province of Las Villas. He pursued higher education in the capital, graduating with a law degree from the prestigious University of Havana. After completing his studies, he established a legal practice and began his foray into the turbulent political landscape of the Republic of Cuba. His early political alignment was with the dominant Liberal Party of Cuba, a vehicle for many politicians during the era of presidents like Gerardo Machado and later Fulgencio Batista.

Political career

Alliegro's political career advanced steadily through several administrations. He served as a member of the House of Representatives and later as a Senator, representing his home province. A staunch supporter of Fulgencio Batista, he held significant cabinet positions, including Minister of Education and Minister of the Treasury. In 1954, he was the vice-presidential running mate for Batista's hand-picked candidate, Andrés Rivero Agüero, in elections widely criticized as fraudulent. Following Batista's 1952 coup, Alliegro became President of the Senate, a role that placed him at the center of the increasingly unpopular and authoritarian regime as it faced growing opposition from movements like the 26th of July Movement.

Interim presidency

On 1 January 1959, as the Cuban Revolution triumphed and Batista fled into exile to the Dominican Republic, a brief military-civilian junta was formed. This junta, led by General Eulogio Cantillo and including figures like Carlos Manuel Piedra of the Supreme Court of Cuba, attempted to establish a provisional government. Piedra served as president for mere hours. According to the line of succession outlined in the 1940 Constitution, the presidency then devolved to Anselmo Alliegro y Milá as President of the Senate. His "presidency" was entirely nominal and unrecognized by the revolutionary forces advancing on Havana. By 2 January, the revolutionaries had effectively taken control, and the revolutionary leader Manuel Urrutia Lleó was installed as provisional president.

Later life and death

With the revolutionary victory complete, Alliegro, like many former officials of the Batista government, went into exile. He settled in the United States, joining a large community of Cuban exiles in Miami, Florida. His life in exile was short; he died in Miami on 22 November 1961 at the age of 62. The cause of his death was reported as a heart attack. He was interred in Woodlawn Park Cemetery in Miami.

Legacy

Anselmo Alliegro y Milá is remembered as a symbol of the final moments of the pre-revolutionary Cuban political order. His fleeting, one-day presidency marks the precise endpoint of the constitutional government established under the 1940 Constitution of Cuba and the Batista era. Historians often cite his succession as a constitutional technicality that was rendered meaningless by the revolutionary takeover. His career and its abrupt end are frequently examined in studies of the Cuban Revolution, the fall of the Batista dictatorship, and the subsequent establishment of a socialist state under Fidel Castro. He remains a minor but definitive figure in the transition between two distinct epochs in Cuban history.

Category:1899 births Category:1961 deaths Category:Cuban lawyers Category:Presidents of Cuba Category:Cuban exiles Category:People from Yaguajay Category:University of Havana alumni Category:Members of the Cuban House of Representatives Category:Cuban senators Category:20th-century Cuban politicians