Manuel Marrero Cruz
Prime Minister of Cuba — in office since 2019-12-21
Manuel Marrero Cruz has served as Cuba's Prime Minister since December 2019 — the first to hold the post since it was abolished in 1976.
Quick facts
- Role: Prime Minister of Cuba
- Spanish title: Primer Ministro de la República de Cuba
- In office since: 2019-12-21
- Born: 1963-07-11 — Holguín, Cuba
- Nationality: Cuban
- Affiliations: Council of Ministers — President / Prime Minister; Politburo of the PCC
- Sanctioned by OFAC: No
Biography
Manuel Marrero Cruz became Cuba's first Prime Minister in more than four decades on 21 December 2019, when the new 2019 Constitution restored the office that Fidel Castro had abolished in 1976. He had previously served for 15 years as Minister of Tourism, where he ran Gaviota — the tourism arm of the military-controlled GAESA holding — and presided over the boom-and-bust of Cuba's hotel sector.
As Prime Minister, Marrero chairs the Council of Ministers and is the day-to-day operational head of government beneath President Díaz-Canel. He has been the public face of the post-Tarea-Ordenamiento economic agenda — the partial dollarisation of the economy, the legalisation of MIPYME private enterprises in 2021, and the ongoing struggle to stabilise the electricity grid against chronic apagones.
Marrero is also a member of the PCC Politburo. In early 2026 he announced a decentralisation of MIPYME licensing to the municipal level and renewed the call for a 'different way' of confronting the crisis, language that drew scepticism from independent Cuban observers.
Career timeline
- : Graduates as architect, Universidad de Camagüey.
- : Appointed Minister of Tourism — runs the office for 15 years.
- : Appointed Prime Minister of Cuba (December) — first since 1976.
- : Elected to the PCC Politburo at the 8th Congress.
- : Announces municipal-level MIPYME licensing decentralisation (March).