Andrey Gromyko

Andrei Gromyko
Gromyko in 1972
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
In office 27 July 1985 – 1 October 1988
Deputy	Vasili Kuznetsov Pyotr Demichev
Preceded by	Konstantin Chernenko Vasily Kuznetsov (acting)
Succeeded by	Mikhail Gorbachev
First Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers
In office 24 March 1983 – 2 July 1985
Premier	Nikolai Tikhonov
Preceded by	Heydar Aliyev
Succeeded by	Nikolai Talyzin
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 15 February 1957 – 2 July 1985
Premier	Nikolai Bulganin Nikita Khrushchev Alexei Kosygin Nikolai Tikhonov
Preceded by	Dmitri Shepilov
Succeeded by	Eduard Shevardnadze
Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations
In office April 1946 – May 1948
Preceded by	Post created
Succeeded by	Yakov Malik
Full member of the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th Politburo
In office 27 April 1973 – 30 September 1988
Personal details
Born	Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko 18 July [O.S. 5 July] 1909 Staryya Hramyki, Mogilev Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	2 July 1989(1989-07-02) (aged 79) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting place	Novodevichy cemetery
Nationality	Soviet
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Spouse(s)	Lydia Dmitrievna Grinevich (1911–2004)
Profession	Economist, diplomat, civil servant

Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko (Russian: Андре́й Андре́евич Громы́ко; Belarusian: Андрэ́й Андрэ́евіч Грамы́ка; 18 July [O.S. 5 July] 1909 – 2 July 1989) was a Soviet communist politician during the Cold War. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (1957–1985) and as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1985–1988). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on Soviet foreign policy until he retired in 1988. In the 1940s Western pundits called him Mr. Nyet ("Mr. No") or "Grim Grom", because of his frequent use of the Soviet veto in the UN Security Council.

Gromyko's political career started in 1939 with his employment at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946). In 1943 Gromyko became the Soviet ambassador to the United States, leaving in 1946 to become the Soviet Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Upon his return to the Soviet Union he became a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and later the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. He went on to become the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952.

Gromyko played a direct role in the Cuban Missile Crisis in his role as the Soviet Foreign Minister. Gromyko helped negotiate arms limitations treaties such as the ABM Treaty, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and SALT I and II among others. Under Leonid Brezhnev's leadership Gromyko helped build the policy of détente between the US and the USSR. He supported Mikhail Gorbachev's candidacy for General Secretary in 1985. Gromyko lost his office as foreign minister when Gorbachev became General Secretary, and was instead appointed to the largely ceremonial office of head of state. Gromyko retired from political life in 1988 and died the following year in Moscow.