Alexander Alexandrovich Bessmertnych

Aleksander Aleksandrowitsch Bessmertnych ( Russian Александр Александрович Бессмертных ; born  November 10, 1933 in Biysk in the Altai region ) is a Russian scientist , politician and diplomat .

Life

Bessmertnych is the eldest son of his parents, who had four children in total. His Russian father (* 1907) died in the German-Soviet War in 1943 . His mother from the Altai (* 1908) died in 1995.

The school attended Bessmertnych in Gorno-Altaysk . In 1951 he began studying at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations , where he specialized in international law and international relations of Western countries. While still a student, Bessmertnych was involved in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR , where he worked in the public relations department. After completing his studies, he received his doctorate in law in 1957 .

Bessmertnych speaks several languages ​​and wrote various speeches for Khrushchev .

In the years 1960 to 1966 Bessmertnych worked as a translator and then in the political department and for the Security Council on the Secretariat of the United Nations in New York City .

Bessmertnych was appointed to the staff of Foreign Minister Gromyko in 1966 , where he specialized in Soviet-American relations and led the disarmament negotiations.

From 1970 to 1983 Bessmertnych worked as First Secretary and Deputy Ambassador to the Embassy of the Soviet Union in Washington, DC In this capacity, he led discussions with US Presidents Richard Nixon , Gerald Ford , Ronald Reagan , Jimmy Carter and George HW Bush .

In 1983, Bessmertnych was admitted to the College of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and was appointed head of the US and Canada departments. In this capacity he prepared a meeting between Gorbachev and Reagan in Geneva .

In 1988, Bessmertnych was appointed First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs.

1990 put Gorbachev Bessmertnych as ambassador in Washington. After Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze resigned in December 1990 , Gorbachev arranged for the Supreme Soviet to appoint Bessmertnych as his successor on January 15, 1991 with 421 votes in favor and 3 against. After the August coup in Moscow in 1991, Bessmertnych had to give up his ministerial post.

Since then, Bessmertnych has continued to work internationally. He is President of the Foreign Policy Association, Chairman of the World Association of Former Foreign Ministers, Co-Chairman of the Windsor Forum, the Russian-American Forum and a member of various universities and academies.

Bessmertnych is the author of a large number of articles and research results in the diplomatic field and has received the Order of Friendship among Peoples and other awards. The father of a daughter and a son lives in Moscow with his wife Marina Vladimirovna.

He is a member of the European Leadership Network .

Web links

• Biography of Bessmertnychs (russ.) ( Memento from November 8, 2004 in the Internet Archive )

predecessor	Office	successor
Eduard Shevardnadze	Soviet Foreign Minister 1991	Boris Pankin