GROMYKO, ANDREY ANDREYEVICH

born July 18, 1909, Starye Gromyki, Belorussia, Russian Empire

died July 2, 1989, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.

Soviet foreign minister (1957–85) and president (1985–88) of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.

Though never strongly identified with any political faction, he served dependably as a skilled emissary and spokesman. He was ambassador to the U.S. (1943–46), Soviet representative to the UN Security Council (1946–48), and ambassador to Britain (1952–53). In 1957 he began his long tenure as foreign minister and became renowned for his negotiating skills. In 1985 he was promoted to the presidency, with great prestige but little power, after Mikhail Gorbachev came to power.