Andrei Gromyko

Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (born 5 Julijul / July 18 1909greg in Starye Gromyki in Gomel, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire, now in Belarus, .. † July 2, 1989 in Moscow) was from 1957 to 1985 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. From 1985 to 1988 he was Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the head of state of the Soviet Union.

Life

The farmer's son studied economics of agriculture in Minsk and later in Moscow. In 1931 he joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, 1936 to 1939 he was a professor at the Moscow Institute of Economics. After Stalin's purges Gromyko came in 1939 in the Americas Department of the Foreign Ministry. Soon after, he was sent to the USA and worked at the Soviet embassy. In 1943 he was appointed ambassador to the United States. During World War II he played a major role in coordinating the activities of the two countries and at events such as the conferences at Yalta and Potsdam, and in establishing the UN as a closer confidant of Foreign Minister Molotov. He was known as a tough negotiator. In the West he was given because of his stubborn negotiating style nicknamed "Comrade Nyet " in English and "grim Grom ".

In 1946, he became the representative of the USSR in the UN Security Council. 1952 and 1953 he served as ambassador to Great Britain. Then he returned to the Soviet Union and in 1957 was appointed foreign minister - a post which he held for 28 years. In this position, he was directly involved in the Cuban missile crisis and met during the crisis with President Kennedy. He was also involved in the negotiations for several arms control treaties, in particular the ABM Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, SALT I and II, INF and START. During the Brezhnev years he was involved in the development of detente between the superpowers.

Gromyko was in 1973 a member of the Politburo. He was at the end of the ending February 15, 1957 to July 2, 1985 Official time the acting Foreign Minister longest in the world. Shortly after coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev, he was replaced by Eduard Shevardnadze. Gromyko then took over the chairmanship of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and was head of state of the USSR (July 2, 1985 to October 1, 1988 ) - a purely ceremonial post. Three years later he was pushed because of his conservative views from office. A year later he died shortly before his 80th birthday in Moscow. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.