Prime Minister of Cuba


The Prime Minister of Cuba, known as the President of the Council of Ministers between 1976 and 2019, is the head of the Council of Ministers of Cuba.
The office of Prime Minister was first instituted in 1940 in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Cuba as amended in that year. The first Prime Minister of Cuba was Carlos Saladrigas Zayas, the nephew of former President Alfredo Zayas. The prime minister was also sometimes referred to as "Premier". Between 1940 and 1959, Cuba saw fifteen changes of prime minister; Félix Lancís Sánchez exercised the role twice while Fulgencio Batista held the position concurrently with that of President of Cuba for one month following a military coup. Fidel Castro became prime minister in 1959, replacing José Miró Cardona.
The title of the office was officially changed on 2 December 1976 when a new national constitution, restructuring the government, came into force. Under that constitution, the post of President was abolished and replaced by a Soviet-style collective head of state, the Council of State, elected by the National Assembly of People's Power.
However, unlike the USSR's arrangements, where the Chairmen of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of Ministers were distinct posts, the Cuban Council of Ministers was chaired by the same person as the Council of State. Furthermore, unlike English and Russian, Spanish does not distinguish between the terms "chairman/председатель" and "president/президент", translating both as "presidente".
On 24 February 2019, another constitution – Cuba's current – was adopted in a referendum. Under it, the government was again re-organized, and the posts of President and Prime Minister were restored. Manuel Marrero was named prime minister for a 5-year term by President Miguel Díaz-Canel on 21 December 2019, under the new constitutional provisions, and was approved unanimously by the National Assembly to serve the same day.

List of prime ministers

Footnotes