First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba


The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba is the highest office within the Communist Party of Cuba and is ranked first in the Politburo, the highest decision-making body in Cuba, which makes the office holder the most powerful person in Cuban government.
In Communist states the First or General Secretary of the Communist Party is typically the de facto leader of the country and a more powerful position than state offices such as President or Prime Minister, when those positions are held by different individuals.
From 1961 until 2011, the position of First Secretary was held by Fidel Castro, who was Prime Minister of Cuba and, until 2008, President of the Council of State. The current first secretary is his brother, Raúl Castro, who was President and Prime Minister of Cuba from 2008 until 2018.
The post was named in imitation of the office of First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which was staffed by Leonid Brezhnev at the time.

Officeholders