Castro (Ruz), Raúl Modesto (1931– )

Cuban communist politician, president from 2008. The less charismatic younger brother and right-hand man of Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, he commanded guerrillas during the successful 1958–59 war which overthrew the Batista regime, and became minister of the revolutionary armed forces in 1959. From July 2006 he effectively became head of state and government when Fidel temporarily handed over power due to failing health. In February 2008 the National Assembly formally elected Raúl president when Fidel announced he would not seek another term. Raúl built up a reputation as a low-key, efficient administrator. He also was seen as a communist hard-liner, who was determined to retain the Communist Party's political dominance, though perhaps willing to allow more free-market reform, along the Chinese model.

As the country's second in command during the 1990s, after the fall of the USSR caused economic hardship in Cuba, he pragmatically supported the introduction of agricultural reforms to increase food production. At the 1997 communist party congress he was officially designated Fidel's successor.

Born in Cuba's eastern province of Holguin, to Angel Castro, an immigrant from Spain, and Lina Ruz, a Cuban, he was the youngest of three brothers and had four sisters. He studied social sciences at Belén College in Havana, and was a student activist with the Socialist Youth. In 1953, along with Fidel, he was imprisoned for 22 months for participating in an attack on army barracks, an attempt to oust the authoritarian leader Fulgencio Batista. Both he and Fidel were exiled to Mexico, where Raúl befriended Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara. He survived the disastrous secret ship landing in Cuba, led by Fidel, in December 1956, reaching a safe haven in the Sierra Maestra mountains.