Cuba`s President Raul Castro Shuffles Government

Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Carlos Lage, a vice president who many considered an economic reformer, lost posts.

President Raul Castro tossed aside some of Cuba's best-known politicians on Monday in a cabinet reshuffle that he said would make his government more efficient.

Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Carlos Lage, a vice president who many considered an economic reformer, were the two biggest names to lose their jobs.

The ouster of Perez Roque, who has been one of the most visible members of the government, comes despite a number of recent foreign policy successes and as Cuba waits to see if new U.S. President Barack Obama will move to ease the long trade embargo against Cuba's communist government.

Lage was removed from his post as executive secretary of the Council of Ministers, but there was no mention of whether he would stay on as one of the vice presidents of the Council of State, Cuba's top policy-making body.

Also put aside were Raul de la Nuez, minister of foreign trade, and Jose Luis Rodriguez Garcia, the longtime minister of economy and planning.

In the murky world of Cuban politics, the men could come back in other posts as Castro continues his changes.

Castro, who was elected president just over a year ago to succeed older brother Fidel Castro, said the changes were intended to make Cuba's government more compact and functional, and to work toward "perfecting" the Cuban system.

The ministries of fishing and food were combined, as were the ministries of foreign investment and foreign trade, according to an announcement read on state-run television.

Castro hinted at more changes to come, saying he would continue studying the structure of the government, "with the objective of gradually reducing its breadth."