New Cuba president takes office

Raul Castro will remain party head until 2021 congress

Cuba got a new president on Thursday as Miguel Diaz-Canel, who had been first vice-president, assumed the reins as the successor to outgoing president Raul Castro in a historic generational change for the first time in almost six decades.

The succession was reported by Granma, the official organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba.

The National Candidature Commission had nominated Diaz-Canel, first vice-president of the Council of State, after the 57-year-old's name was proposed by the 604 National Assembly lawmakers to head the country.

As the NCC finally announced Diaz-Canel's name after months of speculation, he received a standing ovation and a hug from his mentor, Raul Castro.

"Diaz-Canel has a rich political career aligned with the generation born after the triumph of 1959 and has been growing with the revolution since he became a student leader," said Gisela Duarte, president of the NCC.

Although Castro was elected a lawmaker, he won't be part of the Council of State. The 86-year-old will remain head of the Communist Party until a congress in 2021.

In a speech, Diaz-Canel laid out the government's roadmap for the next five years.