Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla

Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla (born 22 January 1958) is a Cuban diplomat and politician. He is a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Cuba, and has served as Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2009.

Biography and career
Rodríguez was born in Mexico City to engineer José María Rodríguez Padilla who held high positions in the Cuban government.

He was President of the Federation of High School Students (FEEM) and leader of the Federation of University Students (FEU). Graduated with a Law Degree, he was a professor of Public International Law at the University of Havana. In 1986 he was elected Secretary of International Affairs of the National Committee of the Young Communist League (UJC) and in 1991 he was appointed director of the newspaper Juventud Rebelde.

He served in the Republic of Angola as an officer in the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

Involvement in Cuban diplomacy
Rodríguez Parrilla served as Cuba's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 1995 to 2003. He was appointed as Minister of Foreign Affairs on March 2, 2009, replacing Felipe Pérez Roque, after serving as the Vice-Minister. This was a result of the 2009 shake-up by Raúl Castro.



On October 25, 2011, Rodríguez Parrilla addressed the United Nations General Assembly right before the annual non-binding vote calling for the United States to end its embargo against Cuba.

On July 20, 2015, Rodríguez attended the reinauguration of the Cuban Embassy in Washington, D.C., making him the first Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs to visit the United States on a diplomatic mission since 1958.

Awards

 * Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise 3rd degree (26 April 2011, Ukraine)