The President 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 head of state and 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. Cubas once-ambitious foreign policy has been scaled back and redirected as a result of economic hardship after the collapse of the Soviet bloc. ... Cuban relations with Peoples Republic of China are based on trade, credits, and investments which have increased significantly since the 1990s. ... Following the establishment of diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union after the Cuban revolution of 1959, Cuba became increasingly dependent on Soviet markets and military aid becoming an ally of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. ... Cuba and the United States of America have had a mutual interest in one another since well before either of their independence movements. ... Information on politics by country is available for every country, including both de jure and de facto independent states, inhabited dependent territories, as well as areas of special sovereignty. ... Queen Elizabeth II, is the Head of State of 16 countries including: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, New Zealand and the Bahamas, as well as crown colonies and overseas territories of the United Kingdom. ... Since attaining its independence from Spain, Cuba has had five constitutions. ... The Council of State is a thirty-one member body of the Republic of Cuba elected by the National Assembly of People’s Power. ...

Method of election

Main article: Elections in Cuba

The President of the Council of State is elected by the National Assembly of Cuba. National elections to the assembly take place every five years. The 20th and current President of Cuba is Fidel Castro. He replaced Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado in 1976, following a restructuring of the government. Since Cuba became a one-party republic and the Communist party became the official political party, Cuba has been both condemned and praised by certain Cuban groups, international groups, and foreign governments regarding democracy. ... The National Assembly of People’s Power (Spanish: Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular) is the legislative parliament of the Republic of Cuba and the supreme body of State power. ... Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (born on August 13, 1926) is the current President of Cuba but on indefinite medical hiatus. ... Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado (April 17, 1919-June 23, 1983) was a Cuban political figure, and served as president of Cuba from July 17, 1959 until December 2, 1976, afterwhich Fidel Castro became president. ...

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 the activities of the ministries and 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 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.

The Council of the European Union forms, along with the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union (EU). ...

See also

• List of Presidents of Cuba