Position: President of Cuba
Age: 79
Time in Power: 4 years
Raul Castro assumed the duties of provisional President of the Cuban Council of State when his older brother Fidel was hospitalized for a severe stomach illness. In 2008, after Fidel announced he was not prepared to stand for re-election, Raul was voted in as president. Raul and wife Vilma Espin Guillois, who died in 2007 and is considered the first lady of the Cuban revolution, were key players in the 1959 armed struggle that toppled the country's American-friendly government and replaced it with the Fidel-led communist regime. During Raul's first few months as leader he implemented various reforms, including greater tolerance for private enterprise, the removal of wage restraints and allowing Cubans to buy cell phones and personal computers. Many expect further economic liberalization policies from the younger Castro.