Núñez Jiménez, Antonio

Born Apr. 20, 1923, in Alquízar, province of Havana. Cuban scholar, statesman, and public figure.

Núñez Jiménez was the son of a peasant. He founded the Speleological Society of Cuba in 1940 and served as its president from 1940 to 1950. In 1950 he graduated from the University of Havana with a degree in history and geography. Núñez Jiménez was active in progressive student organizations and in the peace movement. He was repeatedly subjected to repression. From 1955 to 1957 he was a professor of geography at the Central University of Las Villas Province in Santa Clara. In 1957 he joined the struggle against the Batista dictatorship, and in 1958 he became a captain in the Rebel Army.

After the victory of the Cuban Revolution, Núñez Jiménez served as vice-president of the National Institute of Agrarian Reform from 1959 to 1961. From 1962 to 1972 he was president of the Academy of Sciences of Cuba. In 1972 he was appointed ambassador to Peru. Núñez Jiménez was president of the Cuban-Soviet Friendship Association from 1969 to 1972. He was awarded the degree of doctor of geographical sciences honoris causa by the M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (1960). In 1973 he received the State Prize of the USSR for his contribution to the compilation of the National Atlas of Cuba (Havana, 1970).