Konstantin Chernenko

Konstantin Ustinovich Chernenko (24 September [O.S. 11 September] 1911 – 10 March 1985) was a Soviet politician who served as the de jure leader of the Soviet Union from February 1984 until his death in March 1985.

Born to a poor family in Siberia, Konstantin Chernenko joined the Komsomol in 1929 and became a full member of the ruling Communist Party of the Soviet Union 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 of the party's Central Committee on 13 February 1984 and Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 11 April 1984. Despite assuming offices associated with the Soviet Union's highest authority, Chernenko's power was significantly undermined by his failing health and lack of support among the nomenklatura who viewed him as a transitional figurehead. Thus, 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. After leading the party for less than 13 months, Chernenko died on 10 March 1985 and was succeeded as General Secretary by Mikhail Gorbachev.