On July 18, 1909, Andrey Gromyko was born

On July 18, 1909, a great statesman and outstanding Soviet diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR Andrey Gromyko, was born.

Gromyko was born into a peasant family in the village of Staryye Gromyki, Gomel District, Mogilev Province.

After graduating from school and agricultural college in 1931, he studied economics in an institute and simultaneously worked as a director of a rural school. In 1936, he defended his PhD thesis on US agriculture and soon became a senior research associate at the Institute of Economics of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

His perseverance and hard work did not go unnoticed. In 1939, he was selected by a party Central Committee commission to work in the People’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs and was appointed to head the department of American countries.

Gromyko’s career progressed rapidly. In late 1939, he became an advisor to the USSR Embassy in the United States. In 1943, he headed the Soviet Embassy in the US. In this position, Gromyko was deeply involved in preparations for the Tehran, Potsdam and Yalta conferences of the allied heads of state. It was Gromyko who signed the UN Charter on behalf of the USSR on June 26, 1945. In 1946, he became the first Soviet diplomat to be appointed USSR Permanent Representative to the UN.

In 1957, Andrey Gromyko took over the Foreign Ministry – a position he went on to hold without interruption for 28 years. During this period, the socialist camp of countries grew in strength and scope, and relations with African and Latin American states made rapid headway.

Gromyko was involved in drafting many key agreements on security and strategic stability, which reduced global tensions. He put forward over a hundred (!) initiatives in this area on behalf of the USSR. Gromyko personally took part in talks with foreign leaders, including John F. Kennedy on settling the Caribbean crisis.

He worked on improving relations between India and Pakistan in 1966. The agreement on ending the warin Vietnam was signed in 1973 with his participation. He also took part in the Geneva conference where the parties of the Arab-Israeli conflict met for the first time.

#InterestingFact: In the West, Gromyko was nicknamed “Mr. Nyet” (Mr. No) for his unyielding position on important issues involving national interests. In reality, Soviet foreign policy was constructive and open to compromise. Gromyko commented on his nickname: “They heard my ‘nyet’ much less often than I heard their ‘no’ because we made many more proposals.”

In 1985, he was elected Chairman of the USSR Supreme Soviet Presidium and remained in this position until the autumn of 1988 when he stepped down.

He died on July 2, 1989, and was buried in Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.

Andrey Gromyko was one of the most widely respected world diplomats and a symbol of Soviet foreign policy. Owing to his talent, his incredible flexibility coupled with his steeliness in upholding the interests of the Fatherland, our country occupied one of the strongest positions in its entire history.

Sergey Lavrov: Andrey Gromyko is a legendary personality without any exaggeration. He holds a worthy place in the pantheon of the great figures of the past century. He headed the foreign policy office and fulfilled his duties with brilliant skill. His top professionalism earned him unconditional respect in the entire world.