Fidel Castro’s life – in pictures

Fidel Castro addresses a crowd in front of the presidential palace in Havana in January 1959. Castro, who led a rebel army to improbable victory in Cuba, embraced Soviet-style communism and defied the power of 10 US presidents during his half century rule, died at age 90 on November 25, 2016. Harold Valentine / AP Photo

Fidel Castro with South African president Nelson Mandela at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade, during the ministerial conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on May 19, 1998. Patrick Aviolat / EPA

From left, Janos Kadar of Hungary, Nikolae Ceaucescu of Romania, Erich Honecker of East Germany, Mikhail Gorbachev of the USSR, Truong Chinh of Vietnam, Wojciech Jaruzelski of Poland, Fidel Castro of Cuba, Todor Zhivkov of Bulgaria, Gustav Husak of Czechoslovakia and J Batmunh of Mongolia pose before a Comecon meeting in Moscow on November 10, 1986. Tass / AFP

Venezuela’s president Hugo Chavez visits Fidel Castro during his recuperation from surgery in Havana. Castro died eight years after ill health forced him to formally hand power over to his younger brother Raul. Granma via AP

Fidel Castro with Soviet president Leonid Brezhenev, left, and premier Nikita Khrushchev, right, at the latter’s estate near Moscow on April 30, 1963. Russian president Vladimir Putin described Castro as “a sincere and reliable friend of Russia”. Itar-Tass via AP

An undated photo shows Fidel Castro posing for a portrait at an unknown location. AP Photo

Fidel Castro reviews a guard of honour with visiting Chinese president Jiang Zemin in Havana on April 12, 2001. Adalberto Roque / AFP

Fidel Castro with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, centre, and Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega during the non-aligned countries summit in Harare, Zimbabwe, on September 4, 1986. Alexander Joe / AFP

Fidel Castro and Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi at a meeting in the United States in 1976. Oficina de Asuntos Historicos del Consejo de Estado / AFP

Palestine Liberation Organisation chairman Yasser Arafat walks with Fidel Castro during a visit to Cuba in December 1974. AFP

Fidel Castro gives his deposition to Colonel Chabiano, military chief of the Moncada Garrison, at the Vivac in Santiago de Cuba on July 26, 1953 after an attack on the Moncada garrison house by the group led by Castro. Archivo consejo de estado / AFP

Fidel Castro wears a Kotowice uniform on July 11, 1972 during a visit to Poland. Prensa Latina / AFP

Fidel Castro rides with Chilean president Salvador Allende through a crowd waving communist flags in Santiago, Chile, on November 10, 1971. AP Photo

Fidel Castro reviews troops during his visit to Leuna in the former German Democratic Republic in June 1972. With Castro is East German president Erich Honecker. Rogelio More / Prensa Latina via AP Images

The US vice president Richard Nixon, right, shakes hands with Fidel Castro after a private meeting at Nixon’s office in Washington, DC, on April 19, 1959. AP Photo

On his first visit to the United Nations after coming to power, Fidel Castro stands with Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev, centre left, outside the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, New York, on September 20, 1960. AP Photo

Argentinian rebel leader Ernesto Che Guevara talks to Fidel Castro as he lights a cigar when Castro was Cuban prime minister in the 1960s. AFP / Cubadebate / Roberto Salas

Saddam Hussein, then Iraqi vice president, with Fidel Castro and his younger brother and defence minister Raul, in Havana on January 30, 1979. Prensa Latina / AFP

Images from the life of the Cuban revolutionary leader, who passed away on November 25, 2016, aged 90.