Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, diplomat and politician of the Cuban revolution, dies

Ricardo Alarcón photographed in 2009 in Havana. Credit: ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images (CNN Spanish) – Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada, Cuban diplomat and politician, died in Havana, President Miguel Díaz-Canel reported this Sunday on his Twitter account. The president indicated that Alarcón de Quesada died this Saturday, but did not refer to the cause of his death. “Last night Ricardo Alarcón de Quesada died in Havana, a great patriot and brilliant diplomat of the #CubanRevolution, whose work he defended with passion and solid arguments, making our people proud. All of #Cuba feels his departure,” said Díaz-Canel. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez also paid tribute to Alarcón de Quesada and highlighted his loyalty to the Revolution, the Party, foreign policy and the country’s glorious tradition of diplomacy. Fidel Castro listens to the president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón, during a special session of the Cuban Parliament, on August 7, 2010 in Havana. Credit: ADALBERTO ROQUE / AFP via Getty Images For her part, Josefina Vidal, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba, referred to Alarcón de Quesada as the teacher of diplomats of her generation: “We will always have deep respect for him , admiration and infinite affection. Thank you for the privilege and honor of being his disciple. Our heartfelt condolences to Margarita and Ricardito,” he said. Alarcón de Quesada held, among other positions, that of director of America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ambassador of Cuba in the United Nations Organization. In 1992 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs until 1993, when he was elected president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, according to Granma, the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.