CRI听力:Profile: First Secretary of Cuban Communist Party Raul Castro

Cuban leader Raul Castro has now been officially enshrined as the head of Cuba, taking over as the ruling Communist Party's first secretary.
 
Our Su Yi has more about the younger brother for former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

For 18 months, Raul's presidency was considered temporary.

However, he was actually officially elected president in 2008 when Fidel decided to withdraw from office permanently.

Quieter and a head shorter than his brother, he doesn't appear to have the charisma of his brother.

But while he may not be as flashy as Fidel, Raul has held numerous key government and party positions before assuming the presidency, including heading the Communist Party itself.

He has also headed Cuba's armed forces.

Raul was born in 1931.

He is the youngest of three brothers, and is five years younger than Fidel.

He joined a communist youth group as a university undergraduate.

In 1953, he joined with his brother in the attack against the Moncada Barracks in Santiago, leading the fight at the Palace of Justice and supporting the main action commanded by Fidel.

The coup failed, and he was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

During this time, Raul is said to have befriended revolutionary hero Che Guevara, introducing him to Fidel.

After the triumph of the Cuban revolutionaries in January 1959, Raul was appointed minister of the newly established Ministry of Revolutionary Armed Forces, a post he held until 2006.

In the same year he married Vilma Espin, a fellow revolutionary guerrilla fighter and high-level party official, who died in June 2007.

In the eyes of his four children, Raul is said to be a doting father and an enthusiastic climber.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.