Cuba names Manuel Marrero Cruz as first prime minister since 1976 Saturday Dec 21,2019

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel has appointed the country's first prime minister in more than 40 years - the tourism minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz.

Marrero's appointment was ratified unanimously by deputies in the National Assembly on Saturday Dec 21,2019

The post of prime minister was scrapped in 1976 by the then revolutionary leader Fidel Castro.

It was reinstated under the rules of a new constitution for the communist-run island passed earlier this year.
 
However, critics say any such changes are purely cosmetic as the Cuban Communist Party and the military remain the only two real decision-making institutions on the island.

Note

Fidel Castro led a communist revolution that toppled the Cuban government in 1959, after which he declared himself prime minister.

He held the title until 1976, when it was abolished and he became head of the Communist Party and president of the council of state and the council of ministers.

With his health failing, Castro handed power to his brother, Raúl, in 2006. He died in 2016.

Raúl Castro stood down from the presidency in 2018 but remains leader of Cuba's Communist Party and a major force in its politics.