Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko^[a][b] (24 September [O.S. 11 September] 1911 – 10 March 1985)^[2][3] was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1984 until his death a year later.

Born to a poor family in Siberia, Konstantin 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 was appointed to head the General Department of the Central Committee. In this capacity, he became responsible for setting the agenda for the Politburo and drafting Central Committee decrees. By 1971 Chernenko became a full member of the Central Committee and later a full member of the Politburo in 1978.

Following the death of Yuri Andropov, Chernenko was elected General Secretary in February 1984 and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in April 1984. Despite assuming offices typically held by the leader of the Soviet Union, Chernenko's authority was significantly undermined by his failing health and lack of support among the party elite who viewed him as a transitional figurehead.^[4][5][6] Therefore, he was compelled to rule the country as part of an unofficial triumvirate alongside Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko for most of his tenure.^[7][8] After holding office as leader of the party for less than 13 months, Chernenko died in March 1985 and was succeeded as General Secretary by Mikhail Gorbachev.

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