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HAVANA (AP) – Nearly 50 years of rule by Fidel Castro ended in Cuba on Sunday as parliament chose his brother Raul to replace him – a transition that leaves the island’s communist system unshaken.

The new president proposed consulting with the ailing 81-year-old Fidel on all major decisions of state, and parliament approved the proposal.

The vote came five days after Fidel said he was retiring, capping a career in which he frustrated efforts by 10 U.S. presidents to oust him.

The transition was not likely to bring a major shift in policies of the communist government that have put it at odds with the United States. However, many Cubans were hoping it would open the door to modest economic reforms and improvement in their daily lives.

Castro was among the 614 members of parliament elected on Jan. 20 but his seat was empty. As the names of the new National Assembly’s members were read aloud, mention of the absent Castro drew a standing ovation.

Parliament gave another standing ovation to Castro’s 76-year-old brother Raul, who is expected to be named president. The younger Castro has headed Cuba’s caretaker government for 19 months, ever since Fidel announced he had undergone emergency intestinal surgery and was provisionally ceding his powers.

The parliament will choose a new, 31-member Council of State to lead the country. The council’s president serves as the country’s head of state and government.

Fidel Castro has held the position since the current government structure was created in 1976. For 18 years before that, he was prime minister – a post that no longer exists.

Castro remains the head of the Communist Party as first secretary. His ballot with his votes for governing Council of State members, including his replacement, was delivered to parliament.

U.S. officials have downplayed the significance of the change. A State Department spokesman on Tuesday referred to Raul Castro as “dictator lite.”

Castro wrote in an essay published Friday that preparations for the parliament meeting “left me exhausted,” and when he finally decided not to accept another presidential term, he did not regret it.

“I slept better than ever,” he wrote. “My conscience was clear and I promised myself a vacation.”

If the first round of voting Sunday, National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon was nominated for re-election to his post, effectively removing him as a dark horse candidate for the council presidency.

Lawmakers voted unanimously to accept his nomination as the only candidate for parliament speaker, then began filling out paper ballots to be filed secretly on his post and other parliament positions.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)