General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR (1982–84) and President (1983–84). Born in Russia, he served as ambassador to Hungary (1954–57), playing a significant role in the crushing of that country’s uprising in 1956. He was appointed chairman of the KGB in 1967; its suppression of dissidents enhanced Andropov’s standing within the Communist Party, and he gained the presidency on Brezhnev’s death. While in office, he initiated the reform process carried through by Mikhail Gorbachev, his chosen successor.