Tomás Estrada Palma

Tomás Estrada Palma was a veteran of the Cuban independence struggle who became the first President of Cuba in 1902, when the United States military government withdrew. His government left a treasury surplus, but his disputed re-election in 1906 provoked a Liberal revolt. He asked the United States to intervene under the Platt Amendment and resigned, opening the second American occupation of 1906 to 1909.