Council of State
| Members
of the Council of State elected by the Cuban Parliament -
February 24, 1998 |
| PB indicates
a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party. |
|
|
| President: |
|
|
|
|
Fidel
Castro Ruz (PB) |
First
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party,
President of the Council of Ministers |
| First
Vice-President: |
|
|
|
|
Raul
Castro (PB) |
Second
Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party, First Vice-President of
the Council of Ministers, Minister of the Armed Forces |
| Vice
Presidents: |
|
|
|
|
Juan
Almeida Bosque (PB) |
Commander
of the Revolution |
|
|
Corps
Gen. Abelardo Colome Ibarra (PB) |
Minister
of the Interior |
|
|
Carlos
Lage Davila (PB) |
Vice
President of the Council of Ministers, Secretary of the
Executive Committee of the Council of Ministers |
|
|
Jose
Ramon Machado Ventura (PB) |
Chief
of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the
Communist Party |
|
|
Esteban
Lazo Hernandez (PB) |
First
Secretary of the Communist Party in Havana |
| Secretary: |
|
|
|
-
|
Jose
Miguel Miyar Barrueco |
- |
| Members:
(Holdovers) |
|
|
|
|
Pedro
Miret Prieto (PB) |
Vice
President of the Council of Ministers |
|
|
Jose
Ramon Balaguer Cabrera (PB) |
Head
of the Department of Intl. Relations and Ideology of the Communist
Party |
|
- |
Vilma
Espin Guillos |
President
of the Cuban Women's Federation |
|
- |
Armando
Hart Davalos |
Director
of the Jose Marti Programs Office |
|
- |
Orlando
Lugo Fonte |
President
of the National Assn. of Small Farmers |
|
|
Felipe
Ramon Perez Roque |
Foreign
Minister
Personal Assistant to Fidel Castro |
|
|
Marcos
Portal Leon (PB) |
Minister
of Basic Industry |
|
|
Pedro
Ross Leal (PB) |
Secretary-General
of the Cuban Worker's Union |
|
|
Rosa
Elena Simeon Negrin |
Minister
of Science and Technology |
| New
Members: |
|
|
| |
Sergio
Corrieri Hernandez |
President
of the Cuban Friendship Institute |
|
|
Roberto
Diaz Sotolongo |
Minister
of Justice |
|
|
Jose
Luis Rodriguez Garcia |
Minster
of Economy and Planning |
|
- |
Caridad
del Rosario Diego Bello |
Head
of Office of Religious Affairs of the Communist Party |
|
- |
Salvador
Antonio Valdes Mesa |
Minister
of Labor and Social Security |
|
- |
Roberto
Fernandez Retamar |
President
of Casa de las Americas |
|
- |
Regla
Martinez Herrera |
President
of the Consejo Popular de los Sitios of Havana |
|
- |
Maria
Caridad Abreus Ruiz |
President
of the Municipal Assembly in La Palmira, Cienfuegos Province |
|
- |
Conrado
Martinez Corona |
President
of the Municipal Assembly, Havana |
|
|
Div.
Gen. Julio Casas Regueiro (PB) |
First
Substitute of the Revolutionary Armed Forces Minister |
|
- |
Otto
Rivero Torres |
First
Secretary of the Union of Young Communists |
|
- |
Juan
Cotino Aslan |
National
Coordinator of the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs) |
|
- |
Marcos
Raul Aguilera Gueton |
Director
of the Central Oil Company |
|
- |
Carlos
Manuel Valenciaga Diaz |
President
of the University Students Federation |
In theory, the Council of State is Cuba's highest organ of
government, and the 31 members elected to a new, five year
term in February 1998, represent the foremost authorities on
the island. In practice, however, the Council is a formal
institution that rarely meets and exercises little real
day-to-day power.
Only eight of the
members have well defined functions connected to key areas
of Cuba's power structure-- President Fidel Castro and his
brother, Raul Castro, and the five vice presidents, as well
as, Dr. Jose Manuel Miyar Barruecos, who has now been
secretary of the Council for almost 20 years.1
On 24 February, Fidel Castro was re-elected Head of State by
Parliament for another five-year term. At the same time, he
heads the Council of Ministers.
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|
Source: CUBANews (March 1998); Domingo Amuchastegui. 1998.
"Government: Inside Look at the Council of State." CUBANews.
March, p.4.
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