This is a list of foreign ministers of the Soviet Union.
No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term | Cabinet | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Took office | Left office | Duration | ||||
People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR | ||||||
1 | Georgy Chicherin (1872–1936) | 6 July 1923 | 21 July 1930 | 7 years, 15 days | Lenin II Rykov I–II–III–IV–V | |
2 | Maxim Litvinov (1876–1951) | 21 July 1930 | 3 May 1939 | 8 years, 286 days | Molotov I–II–III–IV | |
3 | Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986) | 3 May 1939 | 15 March 1946 | 6 years, 305 days | Molotov IV Stalin I–II | |
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR | ||||||
(3) | Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986) | 19 March 1946 | 4 March 1949 | 2 years, 350 days | Stalin II | |
4 | Andrey Vyshinsky (1883–1954) | 4 March 1949 | 5 March 1953 | 4 years, 1 day | Stalin II | |
(3) | Vyacheslav Molotov (1890–1986) | 5 March 1953 | 1 June 1956 | 3 years, 88 days | Malenkov I–II Bulganin | |
5 | Dmitri Shepilov (1905–1995) | 1 June 1956 | 15 February 1957 | 259 days | Bulganin Khrushchev I | |
6 | Andrei Gromyko (1909–1989) | 15 February 1957 | 2 July 1985 | 28 years, 137 days | Khrushchev I–II Kosygin I–II–III–IV–V Tikhonov I–II | |
7 | Eduard Shevardnadze (1928–2014) | 2 July 1985 | 15 January 1991 | 5 years, 197 days | Tikhonov II Ryzhkov I–II | |
8 | Alexander Bessmertnykh (born 1933) | 15 January 1991 | 28 August 1991 | 225 days | Pavlov | |
(acting) | Boris Pankin (born 1931) | 28 August 1991 | 18 November 1991 | 82 days | Silayev | |
Minister of External Relations of the USSR | ||||||
(7) | Eduard Shevardnadze (1928–2014) | 19 November 1991 | 25 December 1991 | 36 days | Silayev |
The Republic of Estonia gained its independence from the Russian Empire on 24 February 1918 and established diplomatic relations with many countries via membership of the League of Nations. The forcible incorporation of Estonia into the Soviet Union in 1940 was not generally recognised by the international community and the Estonian diplomatic service continued to operate in some countries. Following the restoration of independence from the Soviet Union, Russia was one of the first nations to re-recognize Estonia's independence. Estonia's immediate priority after regaining its independence was the withdrawal of Russian forces from Estonian territory. In August 1994, this was completed. However, relations with Moscow have remained strained primarily because Russia decided not to ratify the border treaty it had signed with Estonia in 1999.
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