View source for Andrei Gromyko

{{Short description|Soviet diplomat (1909–1989)}}
{{Redirect|Gromyko|other people named Gromyko|Gromyko (surname)}}
{{Family name hatnote|Andreyevich|Gromyko|lang=Eastern Slavic}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Andrei Gromyko
| office              = [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman of the Presidium of the<br>Supreme Soviet]]
| image               = Andrei Gromyko 1972 (cropped)(b)(2).jpg
| caption             = Gromyko in 1972
| deputy              = [[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasily Kuznetsov]]<br/>[[Pyotr Demichev]]
| predecessor         = [[Konstantin Chernenko]]<br/>[[Vasili Kuznetsov (politician)|Vasily Kuznetsov]] (acting)
| successor           = [[Mikhail Gorbachev]]
| office2             = [[First Deputy Premier of the Soviet Union|First Deputy Chairman of the <br/>Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union]]
| predecessor2        = [[Heydar Aliyev]]
| premier2            = [[Nikolai Tikhonov]]
| successor2          = [[Nikolai Talyzin]]
| party               = [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (1931–1989)
| birth_date          = {{OldStyleDate|18 July|1909|5 July}}
| birth_place         = [[Gomel|Staryye Gromyki]], [[Mogilev Governorate]], Russian Empire (now Gomel, Belarus)
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|1989|7|2|1909|7|5|df=y}}
| death_place         = Moscow, [[Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic|Russian SFSR]], Soviet Union
| resting_place       = [[Novodevichy Cemetery]], Moscow
| nationality         = <!--See MOS:INFONAT-->
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Lydia Gromyko|Lydia Grinevich]]|1931}}<ref name="wife">{{cite web|script-title=ru:Соседи по парте|language=ru|publisher=RPP|url=http://rpp.nm.ru/zemliaki/so_a-d.html|access-date=11 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100310060301/http://www.rpp.nm.ru/zemliaki/so_a-d.html|archive-date=10 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| children            = 2, including [[Anatoly Gromyko|Anatoly]]
| profession          = {{hlist|[[Economist]]|[[diplomat]]|[[civil servant]]}}
| allegiance          = 
| branch              = 
| serviceyears        = 
| rank                = 
| commands            = 
| battles             = 
| awards              = 
| birthname           = Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko
| term_start          = 27 July 1985
| term_end            = 1 October 1988
| term_start2         = 24 March 1983
| term_end2           = 2 July 1985
| office3             = Full member of the [[24th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|24th]], [[25th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|25th]], [[26th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|26th]], [[27th Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union]]
| term_start3         = 27 April 1973
| term_end3           = 30 September 1988
| office4             = [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]
| term_start4         = 15 February 1957
| term_end4           = 2 July 1985
| predecessor4        = [[Dmitri Shepilov]]
| successor4          = [[Eduard Shevardnadze]]
| premier4            = [[Nikolai Bulganin]]<br/>[[Nikita Khrushchev]]<br/>[[Alexei Kosygin]]<br/>[[Nikolai Tikhonov]]
| office5             = [[Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations]]
| premier5            = [[Joseph Stalin]]
| term_start5         = April 1946
| term_end5           = May 1948
| predecessor5        = Post created
| successor5          = [[Yakov Malik]]
| native_name         = {{nobold|Андрей Громыко}}
| native_name_lang    = ru
| nickname            = "Mr. No"
}}

'''Andrei Andreyevich Gromyko'''{{efn|{{langx|ru|Андрей Андреевич Громыко}}; {{langx|be|Андрэй Андрэевіч Грамыка}}.}} ({{OldStyleDate|18 July|1909|5 July}} – 2 July 1989)<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Frankel |first=Benjamin |url= |title=The Cold War, 1945-1991: Leaders and other important figures in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China, and the Third World |publisher=Gale Research |year=1992 |isbn=9780810389267 |chapter=Andrei Gromyko |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nxNnAAAAMAAJ&q=Andrei+Andreyevich+Gromyko+2+july+1989}}</ref> was a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] politician and diplomat during the [[Cold War]]. He served as [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]] (1957–1985) and as [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]] (1985–1988). Gromyko was responsible for many top decisions on [[Soviet foreign policy]] until he retired in 1988. In the 1940s, Western pundits called him ''Mr. [[Nyet]]'' ("Mr. No"), or ''Grim Grom'', because of his frequent use of the Soviet [[United Nations Security Council veto power|veto]] in the [[United Nations Security Council]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/04/world/russians-come-and-go-but-not-gromyko.html | title=Russians Come and Go, but Not Gromyko | newspaper=The New York Times | date=4 October 1982 | last1=Schmemann | first1=Serge }}</ref>

Gromyko's political career started in 1939 in the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs (renamed Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946). He became the Soviet ambassador to the United States in 1943, leaving that position in 1946 to become the Soviet [[Permanent representative|Permanent Representative]] to the [[United Nations]] in New York. Upon his return to Moscow he became a [[Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR|Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs]] and later [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs]] and eventually Foreign Minister. He went on to become the Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom in 1952.

As [[Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union]], Gromyko was directly involved in deliberations with [[Kennedy administration|the Americans]] during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and helped broker a peace treaty ending the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1965|1965 Indo-Pakistani War]]. Under the leadership of [[Leonid Brezhnev]], he played a central role in the establishment of [[détente]] with the United States by negotiating the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty|ABM Treaty]], the [[Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] and the [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks|SALT I & II]], among others. As Brezhnev's health deteriorated from the mid-1970s onward, Gromyko began to increasingly dictate Soviet policy alongside Defense Minister [[Dmitry Ustinov]] and KGB Chairman [[Yuri Andropov]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Figes |first=Orlando |date=2014 |title=Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991: A History |url= |location= |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |page=266 |isbn=978-0-8050-9131-1 |access-date= |quote="As Brezhnev's health deteriorated following a major stroke in 1975, real power passed into the hands of Yuri Andropov, Gromyko and Dmitry Ustinov, the new hawkish Defence Minister, who pushed for an even bolder policy abroad."}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Haslam |first=Jonathan |date=2011 |title=Russia's Cold War: From the October Revolution to the Fall of the Wall |url= |location= |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=299–300 |isbn=978-0-300-15997-4 |access-date= |quote=“Brezhnev’s sickness created a further problem….He collapsed in mid-August 1968, the eve of the invasion of Czechoslovakia. A further seizure occurred—which proved a turning point—immediately after the negotiations at Okeanskaya, Vladivostok, 23–24 November 1974. Brezhnev was then said to be working only a three-day week….Thereafter Brezhnev’s capacity to concentrate diminished with progressive arteriosclerosis leading to onset of senile dementia, doubtless hastened by beta-blockers taken to lower blood pressure for relief of the heart. Growing dependence on sleeping pills made matters worse…Although decisions still required Brezhnev’s assent, the substance of power tacitly passed to a troika: Andropov, Gromyko, and Ustinov, who met in the orekhovaya room (paneled in walnut) where the entire Politburo foregathered on Thursdays.”}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McCauley |first=Martin |date= |title=The Cold War 1949-2016 |url= |location= |publisher=Routledge |page=189 |isbn=9781138999015 |access-date= |quote=Brezhnev's health was a cause of concern, and there were many cruel Soviet jokes about his incompetence. By the mid-1970s, he was only able to work for short periods, and a troika took over: Yuri Andropov, head of the KGB; Andrei Gromyko, foreign minister; and Marshal Dmitry Ustinov, the minister of defence.}}</ref> Even after Brezhnev's death in 1982, Gromyko's rigid conservatism and distrust of the West continued to underlie the Soviet Union's foreign policy until [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Mikhail Gorbachev's]] rise to power in 1985.

Upon [[Konstantin Chernenko|Konstantin Chernenko's]] selection as [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] on 13 February 1984, Andrei Gromyko formed an unofficial [[triumvirate]] alongside Ustinov and Chernenko that governed the Soviet Union through the end of the year.<ref>{{cite news |last=Saxon |first=Wolfgang |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/12/world/succession-moscow-siberian-peasant-who-won-power-konstantin-chernenko-brezhnev.html |title=Succession In Moscow: Siberian Peasant Who Won Power; Konstantin Chernenko, A Brezhnev Protege, Led Brief Regime |work=The New York Times |date=1984-03-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Thatcher |first=Gary |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1984/1224/122436.html |title=Moscow's 'Safe Choice' Kremlin Reaffirms Preference for Seasoned Officials by Naming Sokolov to Top Soviet Defense Post |magazine=The Christian Science Monitor |date=1984-12-24}}</ref>{{sfn|Bialer|1986|pp=103-105}} However, following Gorbachev's election as General Secretary in March 1985, Gromyko was removed from office as foreign minister and appointed to the largely ceremonial post of [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet|Presidium]] of the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet of the USSR]]. He ultimately retired from political life in 1988, and died the following year in [[Moscow]].

==Early life==

===Background and youth===
Gromyko was born to a poor "semi-peasant, semi-worker" [[Belarusians|Belarusian]] family<ref>{{cite book |title=Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO morning |isbn=9781598843026 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wlth0GRi0N0C&pg=PA46}}</ref> in the [[Belarus]]ian village of Staryye Gromyki, near [[Gomel]], on 18 July 1909. Gromyko's father, Andrei Matveyevich, worked as a seasonal worker in a local [[factory]]. Andrei Matveyevich was not a very educated man, having only attended four years of school, but knew how to read and write. He had fought in the [[Russo-Japanese War]] of 1904–1905.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=13}} Gromyko's mother, Olga Yevgenyevna, came from a poor peasant family in the neighbouring city of Zhelezniki. She attended school only for a short period of time as, when her father died, she left to help her mother with the [[harvest]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=14}}

Gromyko grew up near the district town of [[Vetka]] where most of the [[inhabitants]] were devoted [[Old Believers]] in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=12}} Gromyko's own village was also predominantly [[Religion|religious]], but Gromyko started doubting the [[supernatural]] at a very early age. His first dialog on the subject was with his grandmother Marfa, who answered his inquiry about [[God]] with "Wait until you get older. Then you will understand all this much better". According to Gromyko, "Other adults said basically the same thing" when talking about religion. Gromyko's neighbor at the time, Mikhail Sjeljutov, was a [[Freethought|freethinker]] and introduced Gromyko to new non-religious ideas{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=17}} and told Gromyko that [[List of atheists in science and technology|scientists were beginning to doubt the existence of God.]] From the age of nine, after the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Bolshevik revolution]], Gromyko started reading [[atheist]] [[propaganda]] in [[Flyer (pamphlet)|flyers]] and [[pamphlet]]s.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=18}} At the age of thirteen (13), Gromyko became a member of the [[Komsomol]] and held [[anti-religious]] speeches in the village with his friends as well as promoting [[Communism|Communist]] values.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=19}}

The news that [[German Empire|Germany]] had [[Eastern Front (World War I)|attacked]] the [[Russian Empire]] in August 1914 came without warning to the local population. This was the first time, as Gromyko notes, that he felt "[[patriotism|love for his country]]". His father, Andrei Matveyevich, was again [[Conscription|conscripted]] into the [[Imperial Russian Army]] and served for three years on the southwestern front, under the leadership of General [[Aleksei Brusilov]]. Andrei Matveyevich returned home on the eve of the 1917 [[October Revolution]] in Russia.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=21}}

Gromyko was elected First Secretary of the local [[Komsomol]] chapter at the beginning of 1923.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=24}} Following [[Vladimir Lenin]]'s death in 1924, the villagers asked Gromyko what would happen in the leader's absence. Gromyko remembered a communist slogan from the heyday of the October Revolution: "The revolution was carried through by Lenin and his ''helpers''." He then told the villagers that Lenin was dead, but "his aides, the Party, still lived on."{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=25}}

===Education and party membership===
When he was young, Gromyko's mother Olga told him that he should leave his home town to become an educated man.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=15}} Gromyko followed his mother's advice and, after finishing seven years of [[primary school]] and [[vocational education]] in Gomel, he moved to [[Barysaw|Borisov]] to attend [[technical school]]. Gromyko became a member of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|All-Union Communist Party Bolsheviks]] in 1931, something he had dreamed of since he learned about the "difference between a poor farmer and a landowner, a worker and a capitalist". Gromyko was voted in as secretary of his party cell at his first party conference and used most of his weekends doing volunteer work.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=25}} Gromyko received a very small [[stipend]] to live on, but still had a strong nostalgia for the days when he worked as a volunteer. It was about this time that Gromyko met his future wife, [[Lydia Gromyko|Lydia Grinevich]]. Grinevich was the daughter of a Belarusian peasant family and came from [[Kamenki]], a small village to the west of [[Minsk]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=26}} She and Gromyko had two children, [[Anatoly Gromyko|Anatoly]] and Emiliya.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=27}}

After studying in [[Barysaw|Borisov]] for two years, Gromyko was appointed [[principal (academia)|principal]] of a [[secondary school]] in [[Dzyarzhynsk]], where he taught, supervised the school, and continued his studies. One day, a representative from the [[Central Committee]] of the [[Communist Party of Byelorussia]] offered him an opportunity to do post-graduate work in Minsk.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=28}} Gromyko traveled to Minsk for an interview with the head of the university, I.M. Borisevich, who explained that a new post-graduate program had been formed for training in economics; Gromyko's record in education and social work made him a desirable candidate. Gromyko advised Borisevich that he would have difficulty living on a meager student stipend. Borisevich assured him that on finishing the program, his salary would be at the party's top pay grade – "a decent living wage". Gromyko accepted the offer, moving his family to Minsk in 1933. Gromyko and the other post-graduates were invited to an anniversary reception{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=29}} at which, as recounted in Gromyko's ''Memoirs'':

<blockquote>We were amazed to find ourselves treated as equals and placed at their table to enjoy what for us was a sumptuous feast. We realised then that not for nothing did the Soviet state treat its scientists well: evidently science and those who worked in it were highly regarded by the state.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=30}}</blockquote>

After that day of pleasantry, Gromyko for the first time in his life wanted to enter [[higher education]], but without warning, Gromyko and his family were moved in 1934 to [[Moscow]], settling in the northeastern [[Alexeyevsky District, Moscow|Alexeyevsky District]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=30}} In 1936, after another three years of studying economics, Gromyko became a researcher and lecturer at the [[Soviet Academy of Sciences]]. His area of expertise was the [[US economy]], and he published several books on the subject. Gromyko assumed his new job would be a permanent one, but in 1939 he was called upon by a [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Central Committee Commission]] which selected new personnel to work in [[diplomacy]]. (The [[Great Purge]] of 1938 opened many positions in the diplomatic corps.) Gromyko recognised such familiar faces as [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] and [[Georgy Malenkov]]. A couple of days later he was transferred from the Academy of Sciences to the [[diplomatic service]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=33}}

=== Ambassador and World War II ===
[[File:L to R, Gen. Harry Vaughan, Soviet leader Josef Stalin, Charles Bohlen, interpreter for President Truman, V. N.... - NARA - 198809.jpg|thumb|left|Gromyko standing between [[Harry S. Truman|Harry Truman]] and [[James F. Byrnes|James Byrnes]] at the [[Potsdam Conference]] in July 1945]]
In early 1939, Gromyko started working for the [[People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs]] in Moscow. He became the Head of the Department of Americas, and because of his position Gromyko met with [[United States ambassador to the Soviet Union]] [[Lawrence Steinhardt]]. Gromyko believed Steinhardt to be "totally uninterested in [[Soviet Union–United States relations|creating good relations between the US and the USSR]]"{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=35}} and that Steinhardt's predecessor [[Joseph E. Davies|Joseph Davies]] was more "colourful" and seemed "genuinely interested" in improving the relations between the two countries.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|pp=36–7}} Davies received the [[Order of Lenin]] for his work in trying to improve diplomatic relations between the US and the USSR. After heading the Americas department for 6 months, Gromyko was called upon by [[Joseph Stalin]], the Soviet leader. Stalin started the conversation by telling Gromyko that he would be sent to the Soviet embassy in the United States to become [[second-in-command]]. "The Soviet Union," Stalin said, "should maintain reasonable relations with such a powerful country like the United States, especially in light of the growing [[fascist]] threat". [[Vyacheslav Molotov]] contributed with some minor modifications but mostly agreed with what Stalin had said.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=39}} "How are your English skills improving?," Stalin asked; "Comrade Gromyko, you should pay a visit or two to an American church and listen to their sermons. Priests usually speak correct English with good accents. Do you know that the Russian revolutionaries, when they were abroad, always followed this practice to improve their skills in foreign languages?" Gromyko was quite amazed about what Stalin had just told him but he never visited an American church.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=40}}

Gromyko had never been abroad before and, to get to the United States, he had to travel via [[airplane]] through [[Kingdom of Romania|Romania]], [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] and [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]] to [[Genoa]], [[Italian Empire|Italy]], where he boarded a ship to the United States.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=41}} He later wrote in his ''Memoirs'' that [[New York City]] was a good example on how humans, by the "means of wealth and technology are able to create something that is totally alien to our nature". He further noticed the New York working districts which, in his own opinion, were proof of the inhumanity of [[capitalism]] and of the system's greed.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=42}} Gromyko met and consulted with most of the senior officers of the [[United States government]] during his first days{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=43}} and succeeded [[Maxim Litvinov]] as ambassador to the United States in 1943. In his ''Memoirs'' Gromyko wrote fondly of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|pp=48–9}} even though he believed him to be a representative of the [[bourgeoisie class]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=50}} During his time as ambassador, Gromyko met prominent personalities such as British actor [[Charlie Chaplin]],{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=73}}  and British economist [[John Maynard Keynes]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=82}}

Gromyko was a Soviet delegate to the [[Tehran Conference|Tehran]], [[Dumbarton Oaks Conference|Dumbarton Oaks]], [[Yalta Conference|Yalta]] and [[Potsdam Conference|Potsdam]] conferences.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=88}} In 1943, the same year as the [[Tehran Conference]], the USSR [[Cuba–Russia relations|established diplomatic relations with Cuba]] and Gromyko was appointed the Soviet ambassador to [[Havana]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=89}} Gromyko claimed that the accusations brought against Roosevelt by American [[right-wingers]], that he was a [[socialist]] sympathizer, were absurd.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=95}} While he started out as a member delegate Gromyko later became the head of the Soviet delegation to the [[Treaty of San Francisco|San Francisco conference]] after Molotov's departure. When he later returned to Moscow to celebrate the Soviet victory in the [[Great Patriotic War]], Stalin commended him saying a good diplomat was "worth two or three armies at the front".{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=103}}

==At the helm of Soviet foreign policy==

===United Nations===
[[File:Andrei Gromyko 1949.png|thumb|Gromyko in 1949]]
Gromyko was appointed [[Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations]] (UN) in April 1946.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=144}} The USSR supported the election of the first [[Secretary-General of the United Nations]], [[Trygve Lie]], a former [[Norwegians|Norwegian]] [[Minister of Foreign Affairs (Norway)|Minister of Foreign Affairs]]. However, in the opinion of Gromyko, Lie became an active supporter of the "expansionist behaviour" of the United States and its "American aggressionist" policy. Because of this political stance, Gromyko believed Lie to be a poor Secretary-General.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=141}} Trygve's successor, Swede [[Dag Hammarskjöld]] also promoted what Gromyko claimed as "[[anti-Soviet]] policies".{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=142}} [[U Thant]], the third Secretary-General, once told Gromyko that it was "close to impossible" to have an "objective opinion of the USSR" in the [[Secretariat of the United Nations]] because the majority of Secretariat members were of American nationality, or "supporters of the United States".{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=143}}

Gromyko often used the Soviet [[List of vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions|veto power]] in the early days of the United Nations. So familiar was a Soviet veto in the early days of the UN that Gromyko became known as ''Mr Nyet'', literally meaning "Mr. No". During the first 10 years of the UN's history, the Soviet Union used its veto 79 times. In the same period, the [[Republic of China]] used the veto once, [[France]] twice, and the others not at all.<ref>{{cite news |author=Karfala, Tarik |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2828985.stm|title=The veto and how to use it |date=17 September 2003 |publisher=[[BBC]] | access-date = 18 November 2010 }}</ref> On 14 May 1947, Gromyko advocated the [[one-state solution]] to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]], and the [[two-state solution]] as the second best option in the case that "relations between the [[Jews|Jewish]] and [[Arab Palestinian|Arab populations of Palestine]]&nbsp;... proved to be so bad that it would be impossible to reconcile them".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://unispal.un.org/DPA/DPR/unispal.nsf/0/D41260F1132AD6BE052566190059E5F0|title=Discussion of the report of the First Committee on the establishment of a special committee on Palestine |publisher=United Nations General Assembly |date=14 May 1947 |access-date=28 August 2017|id=A/2/PV.77}}</ref>

===Ambassador to the United Kingdom===
Gromyko was appointed Soviet ambassador to the United Kingdom at a June 1952 meeting with [[Joseph Stalin]] in the [[Kremlin]]. Stalin paced back and forth as normal, telling Gromyko about the importance of his new office, and saying "The United Kingdom now has the opportunity to play a greater role in international politics. But it is not clear in which direction the British government with their great diplomatic experience will steer their efforts [...] This is why we need people who understand their way of thinking". Gromyko met with [[Winston Churchill]] in 1952, not to talk about current politics, but nostalgically, about World War II. Gromyko met Churchill again in 1953 to talk about their experiences during World War II before returning to Russia, when he was appointed as the [[Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR|Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs]].{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=162}}

===Foreign Minister ===
[[File:John F. Kennedy, Andrei Gromyko (1).jpg|thumb|left|Gromyko and [[John F. Kennedy]] in October 1961]]
During his initial days as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Gromyko devoted most of his time battling the [[International Department of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|International Department]] (ID) of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] under [[Boris Ponomarev]]. Ponomarev advocated an expanded role for the ID in Soviet foreign relations but Gromyko flatly refused. A top Soviet official, [[Valentin Falin]], said the ID "interfered in the activities" of Gromyko and his ministry countless times. Gromyko disliked both Ponomarev and the power sharing between the ID and the foreign ministry.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Laird, Robin F. |author2=Hoffmann, Erik P. |author3=Fleron, Fredrick J. | title = Soviet foreign policy: Classic and Contemporary issues | publisher = [[Transaction Publishers]] | year = 1991 | pages = 445–46 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=6z5k4lmY_XMC | isbn = 0-202-24171-8 }}</ref> However, even in the midst of such political infighting, Gromyko presided over many key junctures in the Soviet Union's diplomacy throughout his tenure as Foreign Minister.

One of his first tests as his country's chief diplomat came in 1958 when he addressed [[Mao Zedong]]'s request for the Soviet Union to back his planned war with [[Taiwan]]. During their discussions, Mao flabbergasted Gromyko by telling him that he was willing to sacrifice the lives of "300 million people" to bring about the Republic of China's annexation. Gromyko affirmed to Mao that his proposal would never get the approval of the Soviet leadership. Upon learning of this discussion, [[Moscow]] terminated the [[China and weapons of mass destruction|Soviet-Chinese nuclear program]] along with various [[industrialization]] projects in the [[People's Republic of China]].<ref>{{cite book | author = Zeigler, Charles E. | title = The History of Russia | publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]] | year = 2009 | page = 103 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7moY9FF4raQC | isbn = 978-0-313-36307-8 }}</ref>

[[File:Batsanov, Thompson, Gromyko and Rusk.jpg|thumb|Batsanov, [[Llewellyn Thompson]], Gromyko, and [[Dean Rusk]] in 1967 during the [[Glassboro Summit]]]]
Years later during the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], Gromyko met U.S. President [[John F. Kennedy]] while acting under instructions from the current Soviet leader, [[Nikita Khrushchev]]. In his ''Memoirs'', Gromyko wrote that Kennedy seemed "out of touch" when he first met him, and was more "ideologically driven" than "practical". In a 1988 interview, he further described Kennedy as nervous and prone to making contradictory statements involving American intentions towards Cuba.

Gromyko, in addition to John F. Kennedy, held important political discussions with [[Dean Rusk]], a former United States Secretary of State, in regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis. He defended his state's actions, stating that the Soviet Union had every right to be present in Cuba, especially considering the fact that the United States had established [[PGM-19 Jupiter|their own missiles in Turkey]]. To Gromyko it seemed ironic the Soviet Union was blamed for their presence in Cuba, yet America had established countless of [[List of United States military bases|foreign military bases]] worldwide. After several negotiations, Gromyko mentioned: "By Rusk's behavior it was possible to observe how painfully the American leaders are suffering the fact that the Soviet Union decisively has stood on the side of Cuba",<ref>{{Cite web|title=Wilson Center Digital Archive|url=https://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/111779|access-date=2020-10-04|website=digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org}}</ref> showing Rusk's "weak character".

Later, under the leadership of [[Leonid Brezhnev]], Gromyko played a key role in the establishment of [[détente]], a new phase of Soviet–American relations characterized by a significant reduction of tensions which lasted until 1979. In furtherance of this new arrangement, he oversaw the signing of the [[Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]] on 1 July 1968, the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty|ABM]] and [[SALT I]] treaties in 1972, and the [[Agreement on the Prevention of Nuclear War]] in 1973. During his 28 years as Minister of Foreign Affairs Gromyko supported the policy of disarmament, stating in his ''Memoirs'' that "Disarmament is the ideal of Socialism".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/org.wgbh.mla:6732aaadbb6d9a8c28bef4c622c0336cb35e079d |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120713145821/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/org.wgbh.mla:6732aaadbb6d9a8c28bef4c622c0336cb35e079d |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 July 2012 |title=Interview with Andrei Gromyko, 1988 |last=Cooper |first=Helene |publisher=Open Vault WGBH Archives |year=1988 |access-date=11 September 2010 }}</ref>

[[File:Jimmy Carter with Prime Minister of U.S.S.R., Andrei Gromyko - NARA - 181668.jpg|thumb|left|Gromyko with [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1978]]
Throughout his career, Gromyko explicitly promoted the idea that no important international agreement could be reached without the Soviet Union's involvement.<ref>{{cite book | author = Zeigler, Charles E. | title = The History of Russia | publisher = [[ABC-CLIO]] | year = 2009 | page = 110 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7moY9FF4raQC | isbn = 978-0-313-36307-8 }}</ref> Towards this end, one accomplishment he took particular pride in was the signing of the [[Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty]] whose negotiation could be traced back to 1958. Additionally, in 1966, Gromyko and [[Alexei Kosygin]] persuaded both Pakistan and India to sign the [[Tashkent Declaration]], a peace treaty in the aftermath of the [[Indo-Pakistan war of 1965]]. Later in the same year, he engaged in a dialogue with [[Pope Paul VI]], as part of the pontiff's [[ostpolitik]] that resulted in greater openness for the Roman [[Catholic Church]] in [[Eastern Europe]]<ref>{{cite book | author = O'Sullivan, John | title = The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World | publisher = [[Regnery Publishing]] | year = 2009 | pages = 94–5 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EnMVq0jcIUEC | isbn = 978-1-59698-016-7 }}</ref> despite [[USSR anti-religious campaign (1970s–1987)|heavy persecution]] of [[Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|Christians in the Soviet Union]] itself.<ref>{{cite book | author = Pospielovsky, Dimitry V. | title = A History of Soviet Atheism in Theory and Practice, and the Believer, vol 2: Soviet Anti-Religious Campaigns and Persecutions | publisher = [[St Martin's Press]] | volume = 2 | year = 1988 | page = [https://archive.org/details/presidentpopepri00osul/page/160 160] | url = https://archive.org/details/presidentpopepri00osul/page/160 | isbn = 1-59698-016-8 }}</ref>

In 1973, Gromyko was promoted to a full voting member of the [[Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Politburo]], the Soviet Union's highest decision-making body.<ref name="whowho">{{cite book | author = McCauley, Martin | title = Who's who in Russia since 1900 | publisher = [[Routledge]] | year = 2002 | page = 100 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SmtzBDDlCfMC| isbn = 0-415-13898-1 }}</ref> According to Christian Schmidt-Häuer, the "exceptional memory and confidence in his experience" that served Gromyko well in the past began to make him inflexible, unimaginative and "devoid of a long-term vision" for the USSR upon reaching the peak of his power and influence.<ref name="two"/> By the time Andropov and Chernenko rose to the top of the Soviet leadership, Gromyko frequently found himself advocating a harder line than his superiors.<ref name="two">{{cite book | author = Schmidt-Häuer, Christian | title = Gorbachev: The Path to Power | publisher = [[I.B.Tauris]] | year = 1986 | page = 107 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=1Of3z2l3XrYC | isbn = 978-1-85043-015-5 }}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 404643 Andrei Gromyko speaking at the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).jpg|thumb|Gromyko at the Stockholm Conference in 1984]]
As Brezhnev's poor health increasingly impaired his ability to govern from the mid-1970s onward, Gromyko began to dictate Soviet policy alongside KGB Chairman [[Yuri Andropov]] and Defense Minister [[Dmitry Ustinov]] for the rest of Brezhnev's rule.<ref>{{cite book |last=Figes |first=Orlando |date=2014 |title=Revolutionary Russia 1891-1991: A History |url= |location= |publisher=Henry Holt & Company |page=266 |isbn=978-0-8050-9131-1 |access-date= |quote="As Brezhnev's health deteriorated following a major stroke in 1975, real power passed into the hands of Yuri Andropov, Gromyko and Dmitry Ustinov, the new hawkish Defence Minister, who pushed for an even bolder policy abroad."}}</ref>{{sfn|Haslam|2011|pp=299-300}}  After Brezhnev's death in 1982, Andropov was voted in as General Secretary by the Politburo. Immediately after his appointment, Andropov asked Gromyko if he wanted to take over Brezhnev's old office of the [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]]. However, Gromyko turned down Andropov's offer, believing Andropov would eventually take the office for himself.<ref>{{cite web | author = Tikhonov, Dmitry | script-title=ru:Андрей Андреевич Громыко | language = ru | publisher = people.ru | url = http://www.peoples.ru/state/ambassador/gromyko/ | access-date = 11 September 2010 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101011141746/http://www.peoples.ru/state/ambassador/gromyko/| archive-date= 11 October 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Ever since being appointed Foreign Minister in February 1957, Gromyko never challenged the authority of those chosen to lead the Soviet Union by the Central Committee. However, this changed when the ailing [[Konstantin Chernenko]] rose to become the country's [[de jure]] ruler. Unimpressed by the new leader's feeble grasp of foreign relations and weak standing in the Politburo, Gromyko aggressively asserted control over Soviet diplomacy to the point of regularly interrupting and contradicting Chernenko in front of other world leaders.<ref>{{cite book |author= Zemstov, Ilya |title= Chernenko: The Last Bolshevik |publisher= Transaction Publishers |year=1989 |pages=233–234 |isbn=0-88738-260-6}}</ref> Thus, despite Chernenko's interest in reviving [[détente]], the longtime Foreign Minister's distrust of "[[Western world|the West]]" meant there was no attempt to return to such a policy.

After Chernenko's death in 1985, Gromyko nominated [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] for the General Secretary on 11 March 1985. In supporting Gorbachev, Gromyko knew that the influence he carried would be strong.<ref>{{cite book | author = O'Sullivan, John | title = The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World | publisher = [[Regnery Publishing]] | year = 2009 | page = 223 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EnMVq0jcIUEC | isbn = 978-1-59698-016-7 }}</ref> Upon being elected, Gorbachev relieved Gromyko as foreign minister and replaced him with [[Eduard Shevardnadze]]. Subsequently, he was appointed to the largely honorary position of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.{{sfn|Elliott|Lewin|2005|p=238}}

==Head of state, retirement and death==
[[File:2009. Stamp of Belarus 21-2009-07-07-m.jpg|thumb|upright|A Belarusian stamp from 2009 depicting Gromyko]]
Gromyko held the office of the [[List of heads of state of the Soviet Union|Chairman]] of the [[Presidium of the Supreme Soviet]]; although de jure he was head of state, in practice this was a largely ceremonial role and his influence in ruling circles diminished. A number of [[First World]] journalists believed Gromyko was uncomfortable with many of Gorbachev's reforms,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BVcNAAAAIBAJ&pg=6949,8130282&dq=andrei+gromyko&hl=en|title=Gorbachev takes reform plans to party plenum|date=25 June 1987|work=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]|access-date=12 September 2010}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> however, in his ''Memoirs'' Gromyko wrote fondly of Gorbachev and the policy of [[perestroika]]. Gromyko believed that perestroika was about working for the construction of a socialist society{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=70}} and saw [[glasnost]] and perestroika as an attempt at making the USSR more democratic.{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=265}}

During a party conference in July 1988, Vladimir Melnikov called for Gromyko's resignation. Melnikov blamed Brezhnev for the [[Era of Stagnation|economic and political stagnation]] that had hit the Soviet Union, seeing that Gromyko, as a prominent member of the Brezhnev leadership, was one of the men who had led the USSR into the crisis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8WYVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3655,88759&dq=andrei+gromyko&hl=en |title=Gromyko resignation urged at conference|date=2 July 1988|work=Manile Standard|access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref> Gromyko was promptly defended as "a man respected by the people" in a note by an anonymous delegate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fA01AAAAIBAJ&pg=3739,66502&dq=andrei+gromyko&hl=en |title=President Gromyko called on to resign|date=1 July 1988|work=[[The Glasgow Herald]]|access-date=12 September 2010 }}</ref> After discussing it with his wife Gromyko decided to leave [[Soviet politics]] for good. Gromyko recounts in his ''Memoirs'' that before he made it official he told Gorbachev that he wished to resign. The following day, 1 October 1988, Gromyko sat beside Gorbachev, [[Yegor Ligachev]] and [[Nikolai Ryzhkov]] in the [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]] to make his resignation official:{{sfn|Gromyko|1989|p=8}}

<blockquote>Such moments in life are just as memorable as when one is appointed to prominent positions. When my [[comrade]]s took farewell to me, I was equally moved as I had ever been when I was given an important office. What I thought most about was that I had finished my duties towards the people, the Party and the state. This memory is very precious to me.</blockquote>

Gorbachev succeeded Gromyko in office as Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=n1YVAAAAIBAJ&pg=5744,3071609&dq=andrei+gromyko&hl=en|title=Demoted Politburo 'more equal'|author=McManus, Doyle|date=4 October 1988|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|access-date=12 September 2010}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After his resignation Gorbachev praised Gromyko for his half-century of service to USSR. Critics, such as [[Alexander Belonogov]], the [[Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations|Permanent Representative of the Soviet Union to the United Nations]], claimed Gromyko's foreign policy was permeated with "a spirit of intolerance and confrontation".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Wx8fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1376,2138096&dq=andrei+gromyko&hl=en|title=Soviet official critical of Gromyko in party newspaper|author=Parks, Michael|date=3 October 1988|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=12 September 2010}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

After retiring from active politics in 1989, Gromyko started working on his memoirs.<ref name="gromykobio">{{cite web | script-title=ru:Громыко Андрей Андреевич | language = ru | publisher = hrono.ru | url = http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_g/gromyko_aa.php | access-date = 8 October 2010 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100920115916/http://www.hrono.ru/biograf/bio_g/gromyko_aa.php| archive-date= 20 September 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> Gromyko died on 2 July 1989,<ref name=":1" /> just 16 days before what would have been his 80th birthday, after being [[hospital|hospitalized]] for a [[Blood vessel|vascular]] problem that was not further identified.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Pall-bearers along towards MS Portrait of former Soviet Foreign... |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/andrei-gromyko-funeral-ussr-moscow-novodevichy-cemetery-news-footage/1162931839 |access-date=2023-08-16 |website=Getty Images |date=19 July 2019 |language=en-us}}</ref> His death was followed by a minute of silence at the [[Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union|Congress of People's Deputies]] to commemorate him. The Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union ([[TASS]]), the central news organ in the USSR, called him one of the country's most "prominent leaders". And the [[President of the United States]], [[George H. W. Bush]], sent his condolences to Gromyko's son, Anatoly.<ref name="AP">{{cite news|title=Andrei Gromyko Dies, Was Soviet Diplomat for 50 Years|url= https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73885751.html?dids=73885751:73885751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+04,+1989&author=David+Remnick&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Andrei+Gromyko+Dies,+Was+Soviet+Diplomat+for+50+Years&pqatl=google|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121104122615/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73885751.html?dids=73885751:73885751&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+04,+1989&author=David+Remnick&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Andrei+Gromyko+Dies,+Was+Soviet+Diplomat+for+50+Years&pqatl=google|url-status= dead|archive-date= 4 November 2012|date=4 July 1989|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|access-date=20 November 2010|author=Remnick, David }} (pay-fee)</ref> Gromyko was offered a grave in the [[Kremlin Wall Necropolis]], but at the request of his family he was not buried near the [[Moscow Kremlin Wall]] but instead at the [[Novodevichy Cemetery]].<ref name="gromykobio"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Novodevichy Cemetery|url=http://www.passportmagazine.ru/article/1099/|access-date=12 September 2013|work=Passport Magazine|date=April 2008}}</ref><ref name=":0" />

==Personal life==
Gromyko met his wife, [[Lydia Gromyko|Lydia]], (1911–2004) in [[Minsk]] where they were both studying agriculture at the Minsk Institute of Agricultural Science.<ref name=wife/><ref name=ct89>{{cite news|title=Soviet Statesman Andrei Gromyko, 79|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/07/04/soviet-statesman-andrei-gromyko-79/|access-date=3 September 2013|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=4 July 1989|author1=Thom Shanker|author2=Vincent J. Schodolski}}</ref><ref name=flib>{{cite web|title=Biography of Andrey Andreyevich Gromyko|work=Ford Library Museum|date=31 May 1974|access-date=3 September 2013|url=http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/exhibits/vladivostok/gromyko.pdf}}</ref> They married in 1931.<ref>{{cite web
|title=Cold War: Biographies|url=http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/sp676632.pdf|access-date=3 September 2013|work=GALE}} {{dead link|date=June 2023|bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> They had two children: a son, [[Anatoly Gromyko|Anatoly]], and a daughter, Emilia.<ref name=crw89>{{cite news|title=Andrei A. Gromyko: Flinty Face of Postwar Soviet Diplomacy
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/bday/0718.html|access-date=3 September 2013|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=4 July 1989|author=Craig R. Whitney}}</ref><ref name=ct89/> Anatoly (1932–2017) served as a diplomat and was an academic.<ref>{{cite book|title=Who's Who in Russia since 1900|year=1997|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=London|page=100|author=Martin McCauley|author-link=Martin McCauley (historian)|chapter=Gromyko, Anatoly Andreevich|isbn=978-0-4151-3898-7|chapter-url=https://www.routledge.com/Whos-Who-in-Russia-since-1900/McCauley-Mccauley/p/book/9780415138987}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:President Ford aboard a Russian train headed for Vladivostok - NARA - 7160847.jpg|thumb|[[Leonid Brezhnev]] and Gromyko meeting with [[Henry Kissinger]] and President [[Gerald Ford]] in [[Vladivostok]], Soviet Union, 1974]]
Having been a person of considerable stature during his life, Gromyko held an unusual combination of personal characteristics. Some were impressed by his diplomatic skills, while others called Gromyko mundane and boring.{{sfn|Elliott|Lewin|2005|p=236}} An article written in 1981 in ''[[The Times]]'' said, "He is one of the most active and efficient members of the Soviet leadership. A man with an excellent memory, a keen intellect and extraordinary endurance [...] Maybe Andrey is the most informed Minister for Foreign affairs in the world".<ref name="gromykobio"/> Gromyko's dour demeanor was shown clearly during his first term in Washington and echoed throughout his tenure as Soviet foreign minister. Ambassador [[Charles W. Yost]], who worked with Gromyko at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, the UN founding conference, and at the United Nations, recalled that the "humorless" Soviet ambassador "looked as though he was sucking a lemon."<ref name="history">{{cite book | author = Yost, Charles W. | title = History and Memory | publisher = [[W. W. Norton & Company|Norton]] | year = 1980 | page = [https://archive.org/details/historymemory00char/page/116 116] | isbn = 9780393014082 | url = https://archive.org/details/historymemory00char | url-access = registration }}</ref>
There is a story that Gromyko was leaving a Washington hotel one morning and was asked by a reporter; "Minister Gromyko, did you enjoy your breakfast today?" His response was "Perhaps."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2559747.stm|title=Postcard from Budapest|date=10 December 2002|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=12 September 2010}}</ref>

During his twenty-eight years as minister of foreign affairs Gromyko became renowned by his peers for being consumed by his work. Henry Kissinger once said "If you can face Gromyko for one hour and survive, then you can begin to call yourself a diplomat". Gromyko's work influenced Soviet and Russian ambassadors such as [[Anatoly Dobrynin]]. Historians Gregory Elliot and Moshe Lewin described Gromyko's main characteristic as his "complete identification with the interest of the state and his faithful service to it", helping to explain his so-called "boring" personality and the mastery of his own ego.{{sfn|Elliott|Lewin|2005|p=237}} [[West Germany|West German]] politician [[Egon Bahr]], when commenting on Gromyko's [[memoir]]s, said;{{sfn|Elliott|Lewin|2005|p=237}}

<blockquote>He has concealed a veritable treasure-trove from future generations and taken to the grave with him an inestimable knowledge of international connection between the historical events and major figures of his time, which only he could offer. What a pity that this very man proved incapable to the very end of evoking his experience. As a faithful servant of the state, he believed that he should restrict himself to a sober, concise presentation of the bare essentials.{{sfn|Elliott|Lewin|2005|pp=237–38}}</blockquote>

On 18 July 2009, the Republic [[Belarus]] ruled by [[Alexander Lukashenko]] marked the 100th anniversary of Gromyko's birth with nationwide celebrations. In the city of his birth many people laid flowers in front of his bust. A ceremony was held and attended by his son and daughter, Anatoly and Emiliya. Several exhibitions were opened and dedicated to his honour and a school and a street in Gomel were renamed in honour of him.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.ont.by/news/our_news/0045435/|script-title=ru:Беларусь отмечает 100-летие со дня рождения Андрея Громыко – дипломата с мировым именем|language=ru|publisher=[[Obshchenatsional'noe Televidenie]]|date=18 July 2009|access-date=11 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Andrey Gromyko|url=http://landofancestors.com/famous/politician/84-andrey-gromyko.html|work=Land of Ancestors|access-date=30 November 2012}}</ref>

==Decorations and awards==
[[File:Gromyko.JPG|thumb|Gromyko's tomb in Moscow]]
*{{flag|Soviet Union}}:
**[[File:Sickle_and_Hammer.jpg|30px]][[File:Sickle_and_Hammer.jpg|30px]] [[Hero of Socialist Labor]], twice (1969, 1979)
**[[File:Order of Lenin Ribbon Bar.svg|70px]] [[Order of Lenin]], seven times (1944, 1945, 1959, 1966, 1969, 1979, 1984)
**[[File:POL Order Wojny Ojczyźnianej 1kl BAR.svg|70px]] [[Order of the Patriotic War]], 1st class (1985)	
**[[File:SU Order of the Red Banner of Labour ribbon.svg|70px]]	[[Order of the Red Banner of Labour]] (1948)
**[[File:SU_Order_of_the_Badge_of_Honour_ribbon.svg|70px]]	[[Order of the Badge of Honour]] (1954)
**[[File:SU Medal In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Jubilee Medal "In Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin"]] (1969)
**[[File:SU Medal Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Jubilee Medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"]] (1975)
**[[File:SU Medal Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Jubilee Medal "Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"]] (1985)
**[[File:SU Medal For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945 ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Medal "For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945"]] (1945)
**[[File:SU Medal Veteran of Labour ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Medal "Veteran of Labour"]] (1974)
**[[File:SU Medal 70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Jubilee Medal "70 Years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"]] (1988)
**[[File:SU Medal In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow ribbon.svg|70px]] [[Medal "In Commemoration of the 800th Anniversary of Moscow"]] (1947)
**[[File:Medal_Lenin_Prize.png|30px]] [[Lenin Prize]] (1982)
**[[File:Medal_State_Prize_Soviet_Union.png|30px]] [[USSR State Prize]] (1984) 
*'''Other countries''':
**[[File:Solnce_svobody_rib.png|70px]] Order of the Sun of Freedom ([[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]])	
**[[File:Пластина на орден „Георги Димитров“.gif|70px]] [[Order of Georgi Dimitrov]] ([[People's Republic of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]])
**[[File:Ribbon_jose_marti.png|70px]] [[Order of José Martí]] ([[Cuba]])	
**[[File:Cs2okg.png|70px]] [[Order of Klement Gottwald]] ([[Czechoslovakia]])	
**[[File:GDR_Star_of_Friendship_of_Nations_-_Gold_BAR.png|70px]] [[Star of Peoples' Friendship]] ([[East Germany]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deutsche-gesellschaft-fuer-ordenskunde.de/DGOWP/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/VL-GSdV-1964-1989.pdf|title=Verleihungsliste zum Orden "Großer Stern der Völkerfreundschaft" von 1964 bis 1989|newspaper=Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde e.V.|first=Dirk|last=Hubrich|language=de|date=October 2015|access-date=9 July 2025}}</ref>	
**[[File:Hu3ofl0.png|70px]] [[Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary]] ([[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]])	
**[[File:Noribbon.svg|70px]] Order of Peace and Friendship (Hungary)
**[[File:PER_Order_of_the_Sun_of_Peru_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of the Sun of Peru|Grand Cross of Order of the Sun of Peru]] ([[Peru]])	
**[[File:POL_Order_Zaslugi_PRL_kl1_BAR.png|70px]] [[Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland|Order of Merit of the Polish People's Republic]], 1st class ([[Polish People's Republic|Poland]])

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |last=Bialer |first=Seweryn |author-link= |date=1986 |title=The Soviet Paradox: External Expansion, Internal Decline |url= |location= |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |isbn=0-394-54095-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Elliott |first1=Gregory |last2=Lewin |first2=Moshe | title = The Soviet Century | publisher = [[Verso Books]] | year = 2005 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ETQpY-32DysC | isbn = 1-84467-016-3}}
* {{cite book | last = Figes |first=Orlando | title = Revolutionary Russia, 1891-1991: A History | publisher = Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt & Company | date = 2014 | isbn = 978-0-8050-9131-1}}
* {{cite book | last = Gromyko |first=Andrei A. |author-link= Andrei Gromyko | title = Memoirs | publisher = [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] | date = 1989 | url = https://archive.org/details/gromykomemoirs | url-access = registration | isbn = 0-385-41288-6 }}
* Kalinovsky, Artemy. ''A Long Goodbye: The Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan'' (Harvard University Press, 2011)

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |author=Coleman, Fred | title = The Decline and Fall of the Soviet Empire: Forty Years That Shook The World |url=https://archive.org/details/declinefallofsov00cole |url-access=registration | publisher = St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Publishers | year = 1996 | isbn = 0-312-16816-0 | ref = CITEREFColeman1996 }}

* Genscher, Hans Dietrich, et al.  “Foreign Politicians on A.A. Gromyko.” ''International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations'' (2009)  55, no. 4 192–98.

* Hoffmann Jr., Erik P., and Frederic J. Fleron. ''The Conduct of Soviet Foreign Policy'' (1980)
* MacKenzie, David. ''From Messianism to Collapse: Soviet Foreign Policy 1917–1991'' (1994)
* Piadyshev, B. “Gromyko: A Solid Place in the Diplomacy of the 20th Century.” ''International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations'' 2009 55 (4): 149–59. 
* Shustov, V. “The Gromyko Era in 20th-Century Foreign Policy.” ''International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations'' 2009.  55 (4): 174–87. 

* Stone, Norman. "Andrei Gromyko as Foreign Minister: The Problems of a Decaying Empire," in Gordon Craig and [[Francis Loewenheim]], eds. ''The Diplomats 1939– 1979'' (Princeton University Press, 1994) [https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv8pz9nc.26 online]
*Ulam, Adam B. ''Expansion and Coexistence: Soviet Foreign Policy 1917–73'' (1976) [https://archive.org/details/expansioncoexist0000unse online]

* “On the 100th Anniversary of Andrei Gromyko’s Birth.” ''International Affairs: A Russian Journal of World Politics, Diplomacy & International Relations'' 56, no. 4 (July 1, 2010): 279–83. 

===Primary sources===
* Gromyko, Andrei A. "Introduction" in ''Modern Diplomacy of Capitalist Powers'' (Pergamon Press, 1983) {{ISBN|9780080281735}}
* Gromyko, Andrei A. ''Only for Peace: Selected Speeches and Writings'' (1979)

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160618152009/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_4F61F2AF06974008A3B8C158692613C4 Interview about the Cold War] for the WGBH series, [https://web.archive.org/web/20101228070538/http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/org.wgbh.mla%3Awpna War and Peace in the Nuclear Age]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060828142032/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=people%2FGromyko%2C+Andrei Annotated bibliography for Andrei Gromyko from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
* [https://archive.org/details/TheOverseasExpansionOfCapital ''The Overseas Expansion of Capital: Past and Present''] by Gromyko, 1985.
* [https://archive.org/details/leninsovietpeacepolicygromyko ''Lenin and the Soviet Peace Policy: Articles and Speeches, 1944–1980''] by Gromyko.
* {{PM20|FID=pe/006569}}

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