Background/Early Life Rise to Power Personality Beliefs

Cuba Federal
Castro
DOB: 13/08/1926
POB: South Eastern Oriente Province of
Cuba
Son of a successful sugar planter
Studied law at University of Havana.
Rejected democracy, declared himself in
favour of armed revolution.
In 1953 Castro and his brother Ral led a
rising against Batista which was
unsuccessful, Castro was sentenced to 15
years in prison as a result.
He was released under an amnesty and
fled to Mexico.
In 1956 Castro and Guevara who was a
Marxist and he had met in Mexico landed in
Cuba with a small band of insurgents. This was
known as the 26
th
July Movement. They began
a guerrilla war against the government.
In December of 1958 Castro led a full scale
attack on the government and Batista was
forced to flee.
February 1959 Castro was sworn in as Prime
Minister of Cuba. He announced an
introduction of Marxist-Leninist programme
adapted to local requirements.
Thousands of Cubans went into exile.
Selfish

Liked being in charge

Not afraid to fight and
put lives at risk

Strong leader
Communism and Marxism:
Money should be shared out
equally to all citizens in the
country and all possessions are
owned by the state.
USSR Nikita
Khrushche
v
DOB: 1984
POB: Near Kursk in South-Western Russia.
He was born into a poor family.
He received very little formal education
He joined the Bolshevik Party in 1918 and
served in the Red Army during the Russian
Civil War.
In 1929 he moved to Moscow to attend the
Stalin Industrial Academy.
In 1931 he began to work full-time for the
Communist Party.
He rose through its ranks and became First
Secretary of the Moscow City Party
Committee in 1938.
In 1939, 1 year later he became a member of
the Politburo, the highest decision making
body of the Communist Party.
During the Second World War he worked as a
political commissar in the army.
Stalin died in 1953 and Khrushchev became
leader of the party soon after, but it took him
a number of years to become strong in his
position.
In February 1956 he made a secret speech to
the 20
th
Party Congress denouncing Stalin. He
launched a campaign of de-Stalinisation.
Enormous energy and
drive

Talkative and sociable

Tough

Good self-confidence

Took gambles
Communism:
Money should be shared out
equally to all citizens in the
country and all possessions are
owned by the state.

USA John F
Kennedy
DOB: 29
th
May 1917
POB: Massachusetts
He was born into a wealthy and political
Irish-American family.
He was educated at Harvard University and
graduated in 1940.
During the Pacific War he served as a Naval
Officer.

He entered Politics in 1946 spurred on by his
ambitious Father, Joseph.
He won election as a Democrat into the US
House of Representatives. In 1952 he was
elected to the Senate.
In 1960 Kennedy won the partys presidential
nomination and defeated Richard Nixon in the
subsequent election that same year.
He was Americas youngest President at 43.
He was Americas first Catholic Head of State
Laid-back

Young and
enthusiastic

Charming and
Charismatic

New Roosevelt
Capitalism:
People who worked hard should
be able to own more and have
more money