Raúl Castro

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban politician, general, and revolutionary who served as the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, the most senior position in the one-party communist state, from 2011 to 2021, and President of Cuba between 2008 and 2018, succeeding his brother Fidel Castro; he is still considered the de facto leader of the country by some critics. One of the military leaders of the Cuban Revolution, Castro served as the minister of the Armed Forces from 1959 to 2008. His ministerial tenure made him the longest-serving minister of the armed forces. Castro was also a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba, the highest decision-making body, from 1965 until 2021. Because of his brother's illness, Castro became the acting president of the Council of State in a temporary transfer of power from 31 July 2006. Castro was officially made president by the National Assembly on 24 February 2008, after his brother, who was still ailing, announced on 19 February 2008 that he would not stand again. He was re-elected president on 24 February 2013. Shortly thereafter, Castro announced that his second term would be his final term, and that he would not seek re-election in 2018. He stepped down from the presidency on 19 April 2018 after his successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was elected by the National Assembly following parliamentary elections. Castro remained the first secretary of the Communist Party. Castro announced at the Eighth Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba, which began on 16 April 2021, that he was retiring. His successor, Miguel Díaz-Canel, was voted in on 19 April. Castro was also the head of the constitutional reform commission, and continues to have a seat representing Santiago de Cuba's Segundo Frente municipality in the National Assembly.