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Mikhail Gorbachev
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Mikhail Gorbachev Article

How did Mikhail Gorbachev become president of the Soviet Union?

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Mikhail Gorbachev was named a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in 1971. In 1979–80 Gorbachev joined its supreme policy-making body (the Politburo), and in 1985 he was elected general secretary of the CPSU. In October 1988 General Secretary Gorbachev was elected to the chairmanship of the presidium of the national legislature (the Supreme Soviet). Shortly thereafter Gorbachev restructured the Soviet government to include a bicameral parliament. In 1989 the parliament elected from its ranks a new Supreme Soviet and made Gorbachev its chairman. In 1990 Gorbachev ran without opposition for president of the Soviet Union.

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