Cuba's National Assembly confirmed the younger brother of retired leader Fidel Castro as the country's new president on Sunday.

Raul Castro, 76, nodded and smiled as members of the assembly applauded his election.

Raul Castro flashes the victory sign during a session of Cuba's National Assembly in Havana on Sunday.
(Ismael Francisco/Prensa Latina/Associated Press)

He then told them he should be allowed to consult with his older brother on defence, foreign affairs, economic and social issues — sealing a transition in power that leaves the island's communist system unshaken.

Parliament approved his proposal, another sign that major changes weren't under way.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called the developments a "significant moment in Cuba's history."

She said Cubans have a right "to choose their leaders in democratic elections" and urged the government "to begin a process of peaceful, democratic change by releasing all political prisoners, respecting human rights, and creating a clear pathway towards free and fair elections."

Raul Castro had a key role in the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power and turned Cuba into a communist state and has been defence minister since then. He stepped forward to head up a caretaker government after ill health forced the elder Castro to yield power in 2006.

Fidel Castro, 81, announced last Tuesday that he will not accept a new term as head of the Council of State, Cuba's highest governing body. However, he will remain involved in running the country as first secretary of the ruling Communist Party.

As the elder Castro announced his retirement as president, he promised to continue the "battle of ideas" by writing articles.

In an article published Saturday, he scoffed at suggestions in news reports that his retirement would lead to political changes aided by Cuban exiles in the United States.

"The reality is otherwise," Castro wrote on the front page of the Communist Party newspaper Granma in his final published comments as the country's leader.

He quoted approvingly from other articles that said his retirement showed the failure of U.S. officials to affect Cuba's political transition.

In a similar column on Friday, he said preparations for Sunday's National Assembly meeting "left me exhausted" and he did not regret his decision not to accept another presidential term. "I slept better than ever," he wrote. "My conscience was clear and I promised myself a vacation."

With files from the Associated Press