Gorbachev, Mikhail

Gorbachev, Mikhail

(1931-) Russian statesman elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in March 1985 and President of the USSR in April 1990 until deposed from power with the break-up of the USSR. As General Secretary, he was responsible for introducing fundamental changes in the USSR around GLASNOST and PERESTROIKA, and for changing international relations with Western Europe and the US.

Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich

 

Born Mar. 2, 1931, in the village of Privol’noe, Krasnogvardeiskoe Raion, Stravropol’ Krai. Soviet party figure. Member of the CPSU since 1952.

The son of a peasant, Gorbachev graduated from the law department of Moscow State University in 1955. In 1967 he completed the correspondence course of the Stavropol’ Agricultural Institute. He was an assistant combine operator at a machine tractor station from 1946 to 1950. Between 1956 and 1962, Gorbachev served as first secretary of the Stavropol’ city committee of the Komsomol and second and first secretary of the krai committee. He was first secretary of the Stavropol’ city committee of the CPSU and second secretary of the krai committee from 1966 to 1970; from 1970 to 1978 he was first secretary of the krai committee.

Gorbachev became a secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU in November 1978 and was elected a member of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1971. A candidate member of the Politbüro of the Central Committee of the CPSU in 1979, Gorbachev was elected a member of the Politbüro in 1980. He was a deputy to the eighth through tenth convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.

Gorbachev has received three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, two other orders, and various medals.