
Miguel Diaz-Canel (born 20 April 1960) was President of Cuba from 19 April 2018, succeeding Raul Castro.
Biography[]
Miguel Diaz-Canel was born in Placetas, Cuba in 1960, and he joined the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces after graduating from college in 1982. In 1993, he started work with the Communist Party of Cuba and became the party secretary of Villa Clara Province, championing gay rights. In 2009, he became Education Minister, and he became First Vice President of Cuba in 2013. On 19 April 2018, the 86-year-old Cuban leader Raul Castro decided to step down from the presidency and allow for Diaz-Canel to take over, and he supported cautious economic reform whilst preserving the country's social structure.