Yuri Andropov

Yuri Andropov
Юрий Андропов
Andropov in 1980
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 12 November 1982 – 9 February 1984
Preceded by	Leonid Brezhnev
Succeeded by	Konstantin Chernenko
Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
In office 16 June 1983 – 9 February 1984
Deputy	Vasily Kuznetsov
Preceded by	Vasily Kuznetsov (acting)
Succeeded by	Vasily Kuznetsov (acting)
Second Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
In office 24 May 1982 – 10 November 1982
Preceded by	Konstantin Chernenko (acting)
Succeeded by	Konstantin Chernenko
4th Chairman of the Committee for State Security (KGB)
In office 18 May 1967 – 26 May 1982
Premier	Alexei Kosygin Nikolai Tikhonov
Preceded by	Vladimir Semichastny
Succeeded by	Vitaly Fedorchuk
Personal details
Born	(1914-06-15)15 June 1914 Stanitsa Nagutskaya, Stavropol Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	9 February 1984(1984-02-09) (aged 69) Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Cause of death	Kidney failure
Resting place	Kremlin Wall Necropolis, Moscow
Political party	CPSU (1939–1984)
Spouses	Nina Ivanovna (div. 1941) Tatyana Filippovna (m. 1941)
Children	4 Evgenia Andropova Igor Andropov Irina Andropova Vladimir Andropov
Residence	Kutuzovsky Prospekt
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	Soviet Armed Forces Soviet Partisans
Years of service	1939–1984
Rank	General of the Army
Battles/wars	World War II Hungarian Revolution Soviet–Afghan War
Central institution membership 1973–1984: Full, 24th, 25th, 26th Politburo 1967–1973: Candidate, 23rd, 24th Politburo 1962–1967 & 1982–1984: Member, 22nd, 23rd, 26th Secretariat 1961–1984: Full member, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Central Committee Other political offices held 1957–1967: Head, Department for Relations with the Communist and Workers' Parties of the Socialist Countries 1954–1957: Ambassador, Hungary Leader of the Soviet Union ← Brezhnev Chernenko →

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov^[a][b] (15 June [O.S. 2 June] 1914 – 9 February 1984)^[2] was a Soviet politician who was the sixth leader of the Soviet Union and the fourth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, taking office in 1982 and serving until his death in 1984.

Earlier in his career, Andropov served as the Soviet ambassador to Hungary from 1954 to 1957, during which time he was involved in the suppression of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. He was named chairman of the KGB on 10 May 1967. After Brezhnev suffered a stroke in 1975 that impaired his ability to govern, Andropov increasingly dictated Soviet policymaking alongside Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, Defense Minister Andrei Grechko and Grechko's successor, Marshal Dmitry Ustinov.

Upon Brezhnev's death on 10 November 1982, Andropov succeeded him as General Secretary and, by extension, as the leader of the Soviet Union. During his short tenure, Andropov sought to eliminate corruption and inefficiency in the country by criminalizing truancy in the workplace and investigating longtime officials for violations of party discipline. The Cold War intensified, and he was at a loss for how to handle the growing crisis in the Soviet economy. His major long-term impact was bringing to the fore a new generation of young reformers as energetic as himself, including Yegor Ligachyov, Nikolai Ryzhkov, and, most importantly, Mikhail Gorbachev.^[3] Upon suffering kidney failure in February 1983, Andropov's health began to deteriorate rapidly. He died on 9 February 1984, having led the country for about 15 months.

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