Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Chernenko
Константин Черненко
Official portrait, 1980s
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office
13 February 1984 – 10 March 1985
Preceded byYuri Andropov
Succeeded byMikhail Gorbachev
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
In office
11 April 1984 – 10 March 1985
DeputyVasily Kuznetsov
Preceded byYuri Andropov
Vasily Kuznetsov (acting)
Succeeded byAndrei Gromyko
Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office
10 November 1982 – 9 February 1984
Preceded byYuri Andropov
Succeeded byMikhail Gorbachev (de facto)
In office
25 January 1982 – 24 May 1982
Preceded byMikhail Suslov
Succeeded byYuri Andropov
Personal details
Born
Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko

(1911-09-24)24 September 1911
Bolshaya Tes, Yeniseysk Governorate, Russian Empire
Died10 March 1985(1985-03-10) (aged 73)
Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Resting placeKremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Political partyCPSU (1931–1985)
Spouse(s)Faina Vassilyevna Chernenko
(m. 1944)
Children4, including Albert
Awards
See List
  • Hero of Socialist Labour Hero of Socialist Labour Hero of Socialist Labour
    Order of Lenin Order of Lenin Order of Lenin Order of Lenin
    Order of the Red Banner of Labour Order of the Red Banner of Labour Order of the Red Banner of Labour Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"
    Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" Jubilee Medal "60 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
Signature
Military service
AllegianceSoviet Union
Branch/serviceSoviet Armed Forces
Years of service1930–1933
Central institution membership

Other political offices held
Leader of the Soviet Union

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko[a][b] (24 September 1911 – 10 March 1985)[2] was a Soviet politician and the seventh General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. He briefly led the Soviet Union from 1984 until his death a year later.

Born to a poor family of Ukrainian ethnicity in Siberia originally from Ukraine, Chernenko joined the Komsomol in 1929 and became a full member of the party in 1931. After holding a series of propaganda posts, in 1948 he became the head of the propaganda department in Moldavia, serving under Leonid Brezhnev. After Brezhnev took over as First Secretary of the CPSU in 1964, Chernenko rose to head the General Department of the Central Committee, responsible for setting the agenda for the Politburo and drafting Central Committee decrees. In 1971 Chernenko became a full member of the Central Committee, and in 1978 he was made a full member of the Politburo.

After the death of Brezhnev and his successor Yuri Andropov, Chernenko was elected General Secretary in February 1984 and made Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in April 1984. Due to his rapidly failing health, he was often unable to fulfill his official duties. He died in March 1985 after leading the country for only 13 months, and was succeeded as General Secretary by Mikhail Gorbachev.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Chernenko". Collins English Dictionary.
  2. ^ Jessup, John E. (1998). Profile of Konstantin Chernenko. Greenwood Publishing. ISBN 9780313281129.