José Luis Rodríguez García was the Cuban Minister of Economy and Planning. He was also a Vice President of the Cuban Council of Ministers and an elected member of the National Assembly of Cuba. Rodríguez was Minister of Economy and Planning since 1998. He was replaced by Internal Trade Minister Marino Murillo in March 2009.
Biography
Rodríguez was born in Havana in 1946. He was a political activist during his early years becoming leader of the Federation of Secondary Students, the Federation of University Students, and the Union of Communist Youth. He graduated in Economics in the late 1960s and then joined the Centro de Investigaciones de la Economía Mundial (CIEM), the most influential Cuban think-tank in global economics. Since becoming economic minister Rodríguez has participated in various economic seminars and forums throughout the world, including Davos, Switzerland.