Cuba elects its first non-Castro president in 60 years: Miguel Diaz-Canel

Cuba is poised for the end of an era today as President Raul Castro steps down, formally handing power to his long-time deputy Miguel Diaz-Canel -- and thereby ending his family's six-decade grip on the island.

The silver-haired Diaz-Canel, 57 -- a top Communist Party figure who has served as first vice president since 2013 -- will become the island's first leader born after the 1959 revolution and the first in 60 years who is not named Castro.

Between them, father of the nation Fidel and his younger brother Raul made the Caribbean island a key player in the Cold War and helped keep communism afloat despite the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Raul, now 86, has been in power since 2006, when he took over after illness sidelined Fidel, who seized power in the revolution.

Diaz-Canel, who has spent years climbing the party ranks, was named the sole candidate for the presidency yesterday.

Meet Cuban President Diaz-Canel: Know about Raul Castro's ally in 10 points

Cuba's Miguel Diaz-Canel, who formally replaced Raul Castro as president on Thursday, has the task of steering the communist island through a period of uncertainty as it turns the page on six decades of Castro rule. In his opening speech, the silver-haired 57-year-old vowed to "continue the Cuban revolution" as laid out by his predecessors, his maiden speech triggering a standing ovation in the chamber.

Formerly first vice president, Diaz-Canel, who succeeds Fidel and Raul Castro, has spent three decades climbing to the summit of the Communist Party. And now he will be tasked with pushing through with the economic reforms that were initiated by his 86-year-old mentor. He becomes the first Cuban leader born after the 1959 revolution -- and perhaps crucially for some of the generals that will be under his command, the first not to have fought in it.

"There is a tradition in Cuba of strong men at the head of the State... (but) the profile of Miguel Diaz-Canel seems weaker," said Cuban watcher Arturo Lopez-Levy of the University of Texas-Rio Grande. "He has no more power than what he has been given."