Editing Felipe Pérez Roque

{{Short description|Cuban politician}}
{{family name hatnote|Pérez|Roque|lang=Spanish}}
{{Infobox Officeholder
|name          = Felipe Pérez Roque
|image         = Felipe Pérez Roque (Havanna, Sep 2006).jpg
|order         =
|office        = [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Cuba)|Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cuba]]
|term_start    = 28 May 1999
|term_end      = 2 March 2009
|predecessor   = [[Roberto Robaina]]
|successor     = [[Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla]]
|birth_date    = {{Birth date and age|1965|3|28|df=y}}
|birth_place   = [[Havana]], [[Cuba]]
|death_date    =
|death_place   =
|spouse        =
|party         = [[Communist Party of Cuba]]
|relations     =
|children      =
|residence     =
|alma_mater    =
|occupation    =
|profession    =
|signature     =
|website       =
}}

'''Felipe Ramón Pérez Roque''' (born 28 March 1965) was the [[foreign minister|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] of [[Cuba]] from 1999 to 2009. At his appointment, he was not only the youngest member of the Cuban cabinet but also the only one to be born after the [[Cuban Revolution]] in 1959.

== Biography ==
Pérez Roque was formerly an electronics engineer and leader of student organizations who had served as [[Fidel Castro]]'s chief of staff for a decade prior to his ministry. As well as being a prominent member of the [[Cuban Council of Ministers]], Pérez Roque was also a member of the [[Central Committee]] of the [[Communist Party of Cuba]] and served on the [[Council of State of Cuba|Council of State]]. He was replaced as Foreign Minister by former United Nations Ambassador [[Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla]] in March 2009 after allegations of expressing scornful words against Fidel Castro's rule and the positions of other senior communist party leaders obtained from covert recording bugs. He was deposed from all his party and state positions.

== Role as Foreign Minister ==
Pérez Roque's role as foreign minister was defined by statements opposing the foreign policies of the United States, in regard to both the status of Cuba and in regard to wider US foreign policy. He called Cuba a "country under siege" as a result of the [[US embargo against Cuba]] Pérez Roque made a series of speeches at the annual [[United Nations General Assembly]] gatherings, criticizing the role of the United States and requesting that US troops be withdrawn from Iraq. At the gatherings, he also petitioned for the security council to include Third World countries, that all nations cooperate in the fight against terrorism, and that it is the responsibility of developed countries to ensure general and complete disarmament including nuclear disarmament.<ref>[http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/septiembre/lun27/40felipe.html Statement by Felipe Pérez Roque Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cuba at the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly New York 24 September 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060622202432/http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/septiembre/lun27/40felipe.html |date=22 June 2006 }} Granma international</ref>

Pérez Roque was also responsible for the deepening of trade [[People's Republic of China–Cuba relations|relations]] between Cuba and the [[People's Republic of China]],<ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/english/200009/17/eng20000917_50676.html China, Cuba FMs Hold Talks] People's daily</ref> and made a number of high-profile trips to the country, signing a key military agreement between the two nations.<ref>[http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y01/mar01/02e6.htm China vows to continue support for Cuba] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312031831/http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y01/mar01/02e6.htm |date=2007-03-12 }} The Times of India Online (Cubanet)</ref>

Pérez Roque was dismissed as Foreign Minister on 2 March 2009. Fidel Castro then criticized him and [[Carlos Lage Dávila]] (without naming them) for love of power in a statement on 3 March, and Pérez Roque announced his resignation from all his party and state positions&mdash;membership on the Communist Party's Central Committee and Political Bureau, membership on the Council of State, and his role as a parliamentary deputy&mdash;in a letter published on 5 March. In that letter, he also accepted Castro's criticism and agreed that he had made mistakes.<ref>Will Weissert, [https://web.archive.org/web/20090403001828/http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hhS0tHy9phvbSVC4UgMOW6K4q42gD96NUFN02 "2 top Cuban officials resign all party, govt posts"], Associated Press, 5 March 2009.</ref>

==Personal life==

He is married to Tania Crombet, [[Jaime Crombet]]'s daughter (Crombet was the Vice President of the [[National Assembly of People’s Power]] until 2013<ref>Wikipedia page on national assembly of people's power</ref>) with two children.

==See also==
{{Portal|Cuba}}
*[[Foreign relations of Cuba]]
*[[Politics of Cuba]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Felipe Pérez Roque|Felipe Pérez Roque}}

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{{Succession box| before = [[Roberto Robaina Gonzalez]]| title = [[Foreign relations of Cuba|Foreign Minister of Cuba]]|years=1999&ndash;2009| after = [[Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Roque, Felipe}}
[[Category:Ministers of foreign affairs of Cuba]]
[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Communist Party of Cuba politicians]]
[[Category:Politicians from Havana]]
[[Category:2000s in Cuba]]
[[Category:20th-century Cuban politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Cuban politicians]]