Nikolai Tikhonov

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Nikolai Tikhonov Николай Тихонов

Premier of the Soviet Union
In office October 23, 1980 – September 27, 1985
Preceded by	Alexey Kosygin
Succeeded by	Nikolai Ryzhkov

Born	May 14, 1905
Died	June 1, 1997

Nikolai Aleksandrovich Tikhonov (Russian: Николай Александрович Тихонов, Nikolaj Aleksandrovič Tihonov; Kharkiv, May 14, 1905 – Moscow, June 1, 1997) was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR (or Premier of the Soviet Union) from 1980 to 1985.

Tikhonov was trained as an engineer at the Dnepropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute earning his degree in 1930. From 1930 until 1941 he worked at the Lenin Metallurgical Plant in Dnepropetrovsk and was promoted to senior engineer.

Leonid Brezhnev was a rising party official in Dnepropetrovsk and he and Tikhonov became friends. He joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1940, became a plant director in Ukraine in the late 1940s and became an official in the Ministry of Ferrous Metallurgy in the 1950s becoming deputy minister in 1955. In 1960 Tikhonov became a member of the State Scientific and Economic Council and in 1961 he became a candidate member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party.

Brezhnev became First Secretary (or leader) of the Communist Party in 1964 and promoted Tikhonov to the position of deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, a position he held from 1965 until 1976. In 1966 Tikhonov became a full member of the Central Committee. (October 2, 1965 - September 2, 1976). The 23rd party congress elected Tikhonov a full member of the Central Committee.

In 1976, Tikhonov became one of two First deputy chairmen (or deputy premiers) in the Soviet government and in 1979 he became a full member of the Politburo. In 1980, at the age of 75, he became Chairman of the Council of Ministers (or Premier) and head of government.

Tikhonov retained his post through the Andropov and Chernenko periods but was replaced as premier in September 1985, shortly after Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party (and effective leader of the country). Tikhonov was removed from the Politburo in October 1985 but remained on the Central Committee of the party until 1989.