Emilio Núñez Portuondo

Who was Emilio Núñez Portuondo?

Emilio Núñez Portuondo was a Cuban politician, lawyer, and diplomat. He was Prime Minister of Cuba in 1958.

Dr. Núñez attended LaSalle School in Cuba and graduated as doctor of civil and public law in 1919 from the University of Havana. He served as a Representative and Senator from the Las Villas Province and also as the Cuban Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to Panama, Peru, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. He was Secretary of the Constitutional Convention of 1940. Dr. Ramón Grau San Martín was the President of the Constitutional Convention which drafted the 1940 Constitution of Cuba.

Dr. Núñez Portuondo served as the Cuban Permanent Representative with the rank of Ambassador to the United Nations in 1952–1958; and was also Minister of Labor in 1957. He served as President of the U.N. Security Council in September of 1957. As leader of the Progressive Action Party, he was Prime Minister of Cuba March 6- March 12, 1958.

Dr. Núñez Portuondo is best remembered as the President of the UN Security Council during the USSR invasion of Hungary. Dr. Núñez Portuondo assisted Cardinal Mindzenty of Hungary in assisting refugees into Cuba and the United States.