Age: 52.
Appearance: Headmaster on inspection day.
Full name: Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez.
Occupation: The next president of Cuba.
Never heard of him. When was he elected? He wasn't. Raul Castro was.
So Raul Castro is the next Cuban president. He was already president, and on his re-election he announced that his second term would be his last.
And then, presumably, they will hold another election. In Cuba the president is elected by the National Assembly, and Castro has tipped Diaz-Canel as his successor.
What's his job now? He's just been appointed to the number-two spot – first vice-president of the Council of State.
How do we account for his meteoric rise? We don't have to – his rise has been anything but meteoric. Diaz-Canel has been working his way up the Communist party hierarchy for the best part of 30 years, having previously held provincial posts and served as minister for higher education.
Any idea what he's like? He's serious and dour in front of the cameras, but it is said that he has a funny side in private. He's been described as loyal, flexible, intelligent and opaque. And a Beatles fan.
So you have no idea what he's like. Not really. But at his age, Diaz-Canel certainly represents a new generation of Cuban politician. The man he replaced as first vice-president – Jose Ramon Machada Ventura – is 81. And he's not called Castro, which is novel.
Fidel will be spinning in his grave! What are you talking about? Fidel Castro is still very much alive, and even made an appearance at the National Assembly on Sunday, signalling his approval of Diaz-Canel's promotion.
Does this mean that things are about to change in Cuba? Raul Castro is calling it a moment of "historic transcendence", but most of the members of Cuba's Politburo are still old enough to have fought in the 1959 revolution.
Do say: "Cuba is finally entering a bold new political era ... in about five years."
Don't say: "You know what would radically modernise Cuba's Communist party? A spell in opposition."
