Special to The New York Times

HAVANA, Nov, 4- Dr. Andres Rivero Aguero, who was elected president of Cuba yesterday, has devoted his adult life to politics. He is a lawyer, but has never actively practiced his profession. Though he has served as a Premier and now has been chosen for the nation’s highest office, he still is little known to the general public. Dr. Rivero was born Feb. 4, 1905 in the town of San Luis near Santiago de Cuba, capital of the Oriente province. He often recounts the experiences of his childhood.

One of his first memories, he say, is of sleeping on a mattress filled with dry banana leaves in a small “bohio” or thatched native hut.

His father an agricultural worker, was 19 years old when Andres was born, his mother 16. They were extremely poor and there was no schooling for Andres or his brothers and sisters.

When he was 12 however, the boy decided to get an education. Working at any job he could find in the town, studying alone or taking advantage of any help he could get, he learned to read and write. Perusing his studies despite hardships, he was graduated from Santiago high school. Meanwhile, at 14, he gained his first government job as messenger in the tax collection office of Santiago.

Attended Havana University

In 1927, young Rivero came to Havana to attend the university. Politically minded were then beginning to fight against Gen. Gerardo Machado, who had made himself dictator. Although Dr. Rivero is said to have collaborated in the revolutionary movement, he never became prominent in it as did many of today’s leading political figures.

Dr. Rivero won prizes and honors at the university. However, his education was slowed by revolutionary violence that culminated in the removal of General Machado and the seizure of control by Fulgencio Batista, then a Cuban Army sergeant. The university was closed for long periods and Dr. Rivero was not able to graduate as a lawyer until July, 1934.

After graduation, he returned to Santiago, was elected councilman and rose rapidly to a prominet place in the Liberal party. He had already gained friendship of Colonel Batista, who was then governing from behind the scenes.

After General Batista was elected to the Presidency for the 1940-44 term, he appointed Dr. Rivero to various positions, including that of Minister of Agriculture. It was Dr. Rivero who carried out the President’s plan to settle landless farmers in the Oriente Province.

Dr. Rivero remained one of General Batista’s closest friends when the general lived in the United Stated during the administrations of Dr. Ramon Grau San Martir and Dr. Carlos Prio Socarras. When General Batista decided to run for President in the elections scheduled for 1952, Dr. Rivero was one of the organizers of his new United Action party.

On March 10, 1952, three months before the election date, General Batista seized the Government by military coup. Dr. Rivero was appointed Minister of Education and held that position until he won election as Senator from Pinar del Rio Province in 1954. Shortly afterward he was made Premier. He resigned this position early this year to seek the Presidency.

Of medium height, with black hair and brown eyes, Dr. Rivero is outwardly reserved but displays considerable charm among close acquaintances.

Good Organizer and Speaker

The President-elect is said to suffer from claustrophobia, which makes him uncomfortabe in crowds, but he is a good political organizer and speaker. Before he went into the Cabinet in 1952, he wrote a daily political column for the Havana newspaper Prensa Libre.

Dr. Rivero lives comfortably but not ostentatiosly in Havana with his wife, the former Isabel Collado. They have four children: Andres 22; Carlos, 20; Rosa, 15, and Jorge Luis, 2.

Nicolas Rivero Aguero, younger brother of the President-elect, was shot and killed by unknown assailants in his home last July 1. He was in charge of Dr. Rivero’s political campaign in Santiago, and Government officials have accused Señor Castro’s rebels of the killing.

A half-brother, Luis Conte Aguero, is in exile in Venezuela. Señor Conte, a severe critic of the Batista regime, was one of Cuba?s most popular political commentators before he fled the island.