Eusebio Leal Spengler (1942-2020)

Cuba

Eusebio Leal Spengler (Havana, September 11, 1942 – Havana, July 31, 2020) was a Cuban intellectual, politician, essayist, and researcher, and the historian of Havana. He held a doctorate in Historical Sciences from the University of Havana, a master’s degree in Latin American, Caribbean, and Cuban Studies, and specialized in Archaeological Sciences. He was Honorary President of the Cuban Committee of ICOM and Honorary President of the Cuban Committee of ICOMOS and of the Civil Society for Heritage, Community, and Environment; Dean of the Faculty of the San Gerónimo University College of Havana; Professor Emeritus of the University of Havana; President of the Network of Offices of the Historian and Conservator of Heritage Cities of Cuba; Honorary President of the Economic Society of Friends of the Country; and President of the Cuba-Mexico Parliamentary Friendship Group. He also served as Vice President of the Cuba-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group. He was a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations system and an advisor on poverty eradication for the United Nations Development Programme. He held honorary doctorates from several universities in Latin America and Europe. Much of the restoration work carried out in the historic center of Havana is owed to his dedication and work. Among other awards, he received the Victor Hugo Medal and the World Decade for Cultural Development Medal, awarded by UNESCO. He was a Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba.

Key Achievements

  • Numerous Cuban decorations, including: the Literacy Medal; the Juan Marinello Order; the Félix Varela Order, First Class, awarded by the Council of State; the Lázaro Peña Order, awarded by the Central Organization of Cuban Workers; the Carlos J. Finlay Order, for his contributions to education, culture, health, literature, and social communication; Hero of Labor of the Republic of Cuba (2007); the National History Prize (2003) of the Republic of Cuba; the National Prize for Social Sciences and Humanities (2016); and the National Environment Prize (2018)
  • Orders of Merit and Honor from dozens of countries, including: the Order of the Liberator Simón Bolívar (Venezuela), the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain), the Order of Arts and Letters (France), the Order of Christopher Columbus (Dominican Republic), the Order of May (Argentina), the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Panama), and the Order of Rio Branco (Brazil). Cross of Boyacá (Colombia), French Order of the Legion of Honor (France), Knight of the Order of Leopold (Belgium), Order of Friendship of Russia, National Order of Merit (Paraguay), among others
  • Distinguished Merits from the Republic of Peru, for Polish Culture, from the Republic of Colombia, from the Italian Republic, among others; as well as commemorative medals: 130 years of the Bulgarian State, 40th anniversary of the victory over fascism (Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia), Archaeological excavations of Latium in the city of Rome, among others
  • Honorary Doctorate from dozens of universities, including: University of Havana and the José Antonio Echeverría Higher Polytechnic Institute (Cuba); University of Athens and National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece), University of Ferrara (Italy), University of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, University of Veracruz (Mexico); Central University of Chile, University of Alicante (Spain), Lateran University (Holy See); and Highest Honor Award, granted by Soka Gakai University in Tokyo (Japan), among others
  • Hadrian Prize 2018, awarded by the World Monuments Fund (WMF)
  • Victor Hugo Order, conferred by the Director-General of UNESCO
  • UNDP Goodwill Ambassador