President of Cuba

President of the Council of State of Cuba

Official Standard
Incumbent
Raul Castro
since February 24, 2008
Appointer National Assembly of People's Power
Term length Five years
Inaugural holder Fidel Castro (1976 Constitution)
Formation 1902
Cuba

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
Cuba

Other countries · Atlas
Politics portal

The President of Cuba (official name: President of the Council of State of Cuba) is the Head of state of Cuba. According to the Cuban Constitution of 1976, the President is the chief executive of the Council of State of Cuba. The president of the Council of State is, at the same time, the president (As Premier) of Council of Ministers of Cuba, the head of government. In cases of the absence, illness or death of the president of the Council of State, the first vice president assumes the president’s duties.

Contents

Method of election

Main article: Elections in Cuba

The President of the Council of State is elected by the National Assembly of People's Power. National elections to the assembly take place every five years. The 23rd and current President of Cuba is Raul Castro,[1] who replaced his brother, Fidel Castro, on February 24, 2008, following Fidel Castro's resignation due to his "critical health condition".

Powers

The President of Cuba is invested with the power to implement the following

  1. Represent the state and the government and conduct their general policy;
  2. Organize and conduct the activities of, call for the holding of and preside over the sessions of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers of Cuba;
  3. Control and supervise the development of all the activities of the ministries and any other central agencies of the administration;
  4. Assume the leadership of any ministry or central agency of the administration;
  5. Propose to the National Assembly of People’s Power, once elected by the later, the members of the Council of Ministers;
  6. Accept( based on personal preference) the resignation of the members of the Council of Ministers or propose either to the National Assembly of People’s Power or the Council of State the replacement of any of those members and, in both cases, to proposes the corresponding substitutes;
  7. Receive the credentials of the heads of delegation of foreign diplomatic missions. This responsibility may be delegated to any of the vice presidents of the Council of State;
  8. Assume the supreme command of all armed institutions and determine their general organization;
  9. Preside over the National Defense Council;
  10. Declare a state emergency in those cases provided for in this Constitution, stating his decision, as soon as the circumstances permit it, to the National Assembly of People’s Power or to the Council of State if the Assembly is unable to meet, according to legal effects;
  11. Sign decree-laws and other resolutions of the Council of State and the legal provisions adopted by the Council of Ministers or its Executive Committee, and arrange for their publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic;
  12. Assume all other duties assigned it by the Constitution or by law.

References

  1. ^ ""Raul Castro chosen as Cuba's new president"". Cnn.com. February 24, 2008. http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/02/24/cuba.nextpresident/index.html. Retrieved 2010-01-13. 

See also