Raúl Castro

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz (born 3 June 1931) is a Cuban revolutionary leader who succeeded his older brother Fidel Castro as the dominant figure in Cuban politics. He participated in the 1953 attack on the Moncada Barracks alongside Fidel, trained with the 26th of July Movement in Mexico, and landed on Cuba aboard the Granma in 1956 to wage guerrilla war against Fulgencio Batista's government.

After the revolution's victory in January 1959, Raúl became Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR), a post he held for nearly five decades and which made him the architect of Cuba's military and a key broker of its alliance with the Soviet Union. He was long designated Fidel's official successor.

He assumed the presidency provisionally in July 2006 when Fidel underwent surgery, and formally on 24 February 2008. In April 2011 he became First Secretary of the Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC). His tenure was marked by:

• Economic reforms (lineamientos) expanding limited private enterprise, self-employment licenses, and cooperatives.
• Diplomatic thaw with the United States: secret talks mediated in part by the Vatican led to the 17 December 2014 announcement with President Barack Obama restoring diplomatic relations, the reopening of embassies in July 2015, and Obama's March 2016 visit to Havana.
• Migration and prisoner releases, including the 2014 exchange involving Alan Gross and the remaining "Cuban Five."
• Constitutional reform culminating in the 2019 constitution.

Raúl stepped down as president on 19 April 2018, handing the office to Miguel Díaz-Canel, and retired as PCC First Secretary at the 8th Party Congress on 19 April 2021, formally ending more than six decades of Castro rule over Cuba's top institutions, though he retains influence as a senior party figure.