Cuba’s first prime minister in more than four decades — long-serving tourism minister Manuel Marrero — took office Saturday as the country resurrected a post last held by Fidel Castro.
The appointment of Marrero, 56, as head of government is part of a process of decentralisation and generational change from the revolutionary old guard that is aimed at extending and protecting the rule of the Communist Party on the island.
“This proposal was duly approved by the political bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba,” President Miguel Diaz-Canel said, presenting it to the country’s National Assembly, which unanimously signed off.
Immediately after his presentation, Marrero received a handshake from former president Raul Castro, the leader of the Communist Party.
Marrero served as tourism minister from 2004, late in revolutionary hero Castro’s administration, continuing in the post under Fidel’s brother Raul and the current president, Diaz-Canel.
