In an unsurprising victory yesterday, Fidel Castro's younger brother, Raúl was elected president of Cuba.

For the past 19 months, Raúl has assumed more control due to his brother's ailing health. But Sunday's vote by the National Assembly, which came five days after Fidel's announcement of retirement, marks the first time since 1959 that Fidel Castro has not been the island's official leader.

The succession is not likely to bring a major shift in the communist government policies that have put Cuba at odds with the United States, the Associated Press reported. And in his first speech as president, Raúl Castro suggested that the Communist Party as a whole would take over the role long held by Fidel Castro, who remains the party's leader.