Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez[a] (Latin American Spanish: [miˈɣel ˈdi.as kaˈnel]; born 20 April 1960) is a Cuban politician and engineer.

On 19 April 2021, Díaz-Canel assumed the reins of the Communist Party when he replaced Raúl Castro as First Secretary, ushering in a new reign.

[1][2] He is of direct paternal Spanish-Asturian descent; his great-grandfather Ramon Díaz-Canel left Castropol, Asturias, Spain for Havana in the late 19th century.

[3][4] He graduated from Central University of Las Villas in 1982 as an electronics engineer and thereupon joined the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.

[7] In 1987, he completed an international mission in Nicaragua as First Secretary of the Young Communist League of Villa Clara.

In his first multinational political trip since becoming president, Díaz-Canel traveled in November 2018 to visit many of Cuba's Eurasian allies.

In March 2019, Díaz-Canel and his wife hosted Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in Havana as the first British royals to visit the island.

[20] His administration has suppressed dissent, particularly surrounding the 2021 Cuban protests triggered by the worsening of the COVID-19 pandemic, suggested combatting the country's food crisis with pizza, guarapo and lemonade,[21][22] and changed the currency system.

[26] Díaz-Canel visited Vladimir Putin in Moscow in November 2022, and the two leaders criticized Western sanctions against Cuba and Russia.

The president was praised by the Assembly members for his leadership in difficult circumstances and for prioritizing collective work, innovation, and science.

[28][29] In December 2023, Díaz-Canel condemned the alleged genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and called Israel a terrorist state.