Raul Castro

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (raˈul moˈðesto ˈkastɾo ˈrus; born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban communist politician who has been President of the Council of State of Cuba and the President of the Council of Ministers of Cuba since 2008. Castro previously exercised presidential powers in an acting capacity from 2006 to 2008. Castro is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Air Force), and has also been First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) since 2011. Castro is the nations highest ranking general.Raúl Castro was a rebel commander during the 1950s. After his brother Fidel Castro took power, Raúl Castro was one of the most important figures in the party, serving as Minister of the Armed Forces for 49 years, from 1959 to 2008 making him the longest serving minister of the armed forces.On 31 July 2006, Raúl Castro was designated the President of the Council of State in a temporary transfer of power, due to Fidel Castros illness. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, Article 94, the Vice President of the Council of State assumes presidential duties upon the illness or death of the President. Raúl Castro was officially made President by the National Assembly on 24 February 2008, after Fidel Castro, who was still ailing, announced he would not stand for President again on 19 February 2008. Raúl Castro became First Secretary of the Communist Party at its Sixth Congress on 19 April 2011, having previously served as Second Secretary under his brother for 46 years.Castro 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.

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