José Ramón Machado Ventura | |
|---|---|
 Ventura in 2019 | |
| Second Secretary of theCommunist Party of Cuba Central Committee | |
| In office 19 April 2011 – 19 April 2021 | |
| Leader | Raúl Castro Miguel Diaz-Canel |
| Preceded by | Raúl Castro |
| Succeeded by | Post Abolished |
| First Vice President of Cuba | |
| In office 24 February 2008 – 24 February 2013 | |
| President | Raúl Castro |
| Preceded by | Raúl Castro |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1930-10-26)26 October 1930 (age 95) |
| Political party | 26th of July Movement (1955–1962) Communist Party of Cuba (1965–present) |
| Profession | Physician |
José Ramón Machado Ventura (born 26 October 1930) is a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was theFirst Vice President of theCouncil of State of Cuba from 2008 to 2013. With the election ofRaúl Castro asPresident of Cuba on 24 February 2008, Machado was elected to succeed him as First Vice President, serving until 2013.[1] He was electedSecond Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in 2011.[2]
José Ramón Machado was born inSan Antonio de las Vueltas, in the former province ofLas Villas, and was schooled inCamajuaní andRemedios.[3] He is a medical doctor by profession, graduating from theUniversity of Havana in 1953. Machado joined therevolutionary movement immediately followingFulgencio Batista'scoup d'état of 10 March 1952, while still a medical student, and was an early member of the26th of July Movement opposing the dictatorship. Later, under the command first ofErnesto "Che" Guevara and subsequently ofFidel Castro, he was one of the original revolutionaries who fought the guerrilla war in theSierra Maestra. In 1958, promoted to the rank of captain, he was sent to the province ofOriente under the command of Raúl Castro as part of the rebels' bid to open up a second front. There he was placed in charge of the guerrillas' medical service, establishing a network of hospitals and dispensaries, and was promoted to the rank of major "comandante" (top rank on Castro's rebel army).[1][4]
Following the revolutionaries' victory on 1 January 1959, he was appointed the director of medical services in Havana and later served as the nationalMinister of Health from 1960 to 1967, during which time he was responsible for the development of the country'shealth sector.[3] In January 1968, reportedly in the aftermath of a personal conflict with Fidel Castro over the running of the health sector,[3] he was appointed to serve as thePolitburo's delegate in the province ofMatanzas. He remained in Matanzas until mid-1971; his administration of the province's economy and health sector was successful, particularly in terms of crop outputs, public transport and reduced infant mortality.[3] Upon leaving Matanzas in 1971, he was appointed first secretary of theCuban Communist Party in theprovince of Havana and was elected to the Politburo in December 1975.
He is a member of theNational Assembly of People's Power, representing the municipality ofGuantánamo. In 2006, he became responsible for overseeing Cuba's international education programs.[1]
José Ramón Machado has been described as "a hardline communist ideologue and old guard revolutionary."[1]
On 10 January 2007, he represented Cuba at the inauguration ofNicaraguan PresidentDaniel Ortega.[1]
Machado was elected by the National Assembly of People's Power as First Vice-President of the Council of State on 24 February 2008, at the same time as Raúl Castro's election as President.[5][6]
On 19 April 2021, Machado retired from thePolitburo of the Communist Party of Cuba following the8th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba.[7][8] The party's national newspaperGranma wrote on April 21, 2021 that Machado will accompany the new generation in transit to assume their responsibilities.[9] The position of Second Secretary has been abolished.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | First Vice President of Cuba 2008–2013 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Second Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba 2011–2021 | Succeeded by position abolished |
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