1931- . Soviet president, in power from 1985.
He was a member of the Politburo from 1980
and, during the Chernenko administration
1984-85, was chair of the Foreign Affairs
Commission. As general secretary of the
Communist Party (CPSU) from 1985, and
president of the Supreme Soviet from 1988, he
introduced liberal reforms at home
(perestroika and glasnost), and attempted to
halt the arms race abroad. In March 1990 he
was elected formally to a five-year term as
executive president with greater powers.
Nobel Peace Prize 1990. Gorbachev, born in
the N Caucasus, studied law at Moscow
University and joined the CPSU 1952. In
1955-62 he worked for the Komsomol (Communist
Youth League) before being appointed regional
agriculture secretary. As Stavropol party
leader from 1970 he impressed Andropov, and
was brought into the CPSU secretariat 1978.
Gorbachev was promoted into the Politburo and
in 1983, when Andropov was general secretary,
took broader charge of the Soviet economy. On
Chernenko's death 1985 he was appointed party
leader. He initiated wide-ranging reforms and
broad economic restructuring, and introduced
campaigns against alcoholism, corruption, and
inefficiency. Gorbachev radically changed the
style of Soviet leadership, despite
opposition to the pace of change from both
conservatives and radicals.