Cuban foreign minister expected to set new tone

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Tuesday, 03.10.09
Cuban foreign minister expected to set new tone

Cuba's new foreign minister is a polished career diplomat, and experts wonder if that will mean a different attitude toward Washington.

By WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA AND FRANCES ROBLES
[e-mail]

The new face of the Cuban government overseas is a man with perfect English, a steady professional style, and more than a decade of experience living in New York as a Cuba representative at the United Nations.

People who have met newly appointed Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez tend to use the same word to describe him: diplomatic. It's not an adjective often used for Cuban ambassadors, who are usually noted for ideological rhetoric.

Rodríguez is a career foreign service officer who takes the helm of the country's foreign ministry at a time of heightened expectation for change between Washington and Havana.

His predecessor was fired and Rodríguez was appointed the same week that the U.S. Senate debated adjustments to Cuba policy. The former United Nations ambassador will be helping shape Cuban foreign policy just after a parade of Latin American presidents visited the island -- and a month before those same leaders meet with President Barack Obama at the Summit of the Americas conference in Trinidad.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/story/941428.html

The other guy he replaced was a completely cool character, himself, Fernando Remírez de Estenoz Barciela

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http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu.nyud.net:8090/salud/paquistan/trabajos/do5-4%5B1%5D.jpg

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1 week ago: Cuba's new Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, center, attends a ceremony with Dominican Republic's President Leonel Fernandez, unseen, in Havana, Tuesday, March 3, 2009. Parrilla, formerly deputy foreign minister, was promoted to foreign minister, replacing Felipe Perez Roque, on Monday. Cuba's President Raul Castro abruptly ousted some of Cuba's most powerful officials Monday, remaking the government in the biggest shakeup since he took over from his ailing brother Fidel Castro a year ago.