35-744: Former General Secretary of the CPSU Former President of the Soviet Union Secretariate (1985–1991) Presidency (1990–1991) Foreign policy Post-leadership [REDACTED] The Gorbachev Foundation (Russian: Горбачёв-Фонд , Gorbachyov-Fond ) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Moscow, founded by the former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in December 1991 and began its work in January 1992. The foundation researches
70-569: A Gorbachev Foundation- TIME interview in December 2014, following the Russian invasion of Crimea, Gorbachev claimed that the U.S. was starting a "new Cold War" although also stated "We have to return to what we started with at the end of the Cold War." In 2017, the Gorbachev Foundation hosted a conference called "Russian Lessons for Reagan" involving various end of the Cold War diplomats, a book of
105-688: A contest with an essay titled "The World We Want". On winning this contest he went to a meeting of youth in a New York Herald Tribune Forum which was later to be renamed as World Youth Forum. When he travelled to the US he met Senator John F. Kennedy and President Dwight D. Eisenhower . He entered the Sri Lanka Overseas Service and served in the Sri Lankan High Commission in London , Beijing, Washington, D.C., New Delhi and Geneva . Dhanapala
140-763: The October Revolution , the job of the party secretary was largely that of a bureaucrat. Following the Bolshevik seizure of power, the Office of the Responsible Secretary was established in 1919 to perform administrative work. After the Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War , the Office of General Secretary was created by Vladimir Lenin in 1922 with the intention that it serve a purely administrative and disciplinary purpose. Its primary task would be to determine
175-542: The Perestroika era, as well as issues of Russian history and politics. It was financed by Gorbachev and donations by people and companies. After 1991, late Soviet foreign policy adviser Anatoly Chernyaev worked with the Gorbachev Foundation and also published books. In May 1992, Gorbachev toured the United States in a two-week speaking tour as part of the foundation. In June to October 1992, Boris Yeltsin transferred
210-446: The 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu , journalist Bernard Shaw , and Reagan administration US-Soviet Exchange official Stephen Rhinesmith. The conference was described and partially criticized by the book The Global Trap in 1996, written by later populist European Parliament member Hans-Peter Martin . The book noted that the idea of a "one-fifth society" was discussed, and the book, as some speakers, claimed that 20% of
245-487: The 2010 Hiroshima Summit about global nuclear disarmament, and the 2012 Chicago Summit. World Summits have included guests such as the Dalai Lama , F.W. de Klerk and Lech Walesa , and Jayantha Dhanapala . In February 2012, bankers from Russia's National Reserve Bank, after 130 Russian security service agents raided the bank, demanded information on funding to the Gorbachev Foundation, as well as to Novaya Gazeta . During
280-575: The 21st century such as resolving differences following the Cold War. The forum included guests such as Mikhail Gorbachev, economist Milton Friedman , former U.S. national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski , former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz , as well as former U.S. President George H.W. Bush , former British PM Margaret Thatcher , scientists Carl Sagan and Jane Goodall , broadcaster Ted Turner , billionaire David Packard , former Senator Alan Cranston , singer John Denver , and chef Wolfgang Puck , South Korean politician Kim Dae-jung ,
315-688: The Atomic Scientists and was a governing board member of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute . Dhanapala was also a distinguished member of Constitutional Council of Sri Lanka and he was the Senior Special Advisor on Foreign Relations to President Maithripala Sirisena , and was Sri Lanka's official candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the United Nations, before withdrawing from
350-898: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union The general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). From 1924 until the country's dissolution in 1991, the officeholder was the recognized leader of the Soviet Union . Prior to Joseph Stalin 's accession, the position was not viewed as an important role in Vladimir Lenin's government and previous occupants had been responsible for technical rather than political decisions. Officially,
385-414: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union at the Central Committee plenum on 14 September that same year. Khrushchev subsequently outmanoeuvred his rivals, who sought to challenge his political reforms . He was able to comprehensively remove Malenkov, Molotov and Lazar Kaganovich (one of Stalin's oldest and closest associates) from power in 1957 , an achievement which also helped to reinforce the supremacy of
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#1732852112332420-598: The General Secretary solely controlled the Communist Party directly. However, since the party had a monopoly on political power , the General Secretary de facto had executive control of the Soviet government . Because of the office's ability to direct both the foreign and domestic policies of the state and preeminence over the Soviet Communist Party, it was the de facto highest office of the Soviet Union. Before
455-589: The Gorbachev Foundation's headquarters and buildings to the Russian government by decree, and assigned them to the Finance Academy , though ordered the academy to leave some rooms for Gorbachev to rent. This occurred without notice while the Gorbachev Foundation was building a library. The dispute with Gorbachev followed Yeltsin's ban on the Communist Party. After the Russian Constitutional Court requested in 1992 that Gorbachev be forbidden from leaving
490-503: The Secretariat, which also included Nikita Khrushchev , among others. Under a short-lived troika consisting of Malenkov, Beria, and Molotov , Malenkov became Chairman of the Council of Ministers , but was forced to resign from the Secretariat nine days later on 14 March. This effectively left Khrushchev in control of the government, and he was elected to the new office of First Secretary of
525-473: The Soviet Union . Trotsky attributed his appointment to the initial recommendation of Grigory Zinoviev . This view has been supported by several historians. According to Russian historian, Vadim Rogovin , Stalin's election to the position occurred after the Eleventh Party Congress (March–April 1922), in which Lenin, due to his poor health, participated only sporadically, and only attended four of
560-488: The Soviet Union as General Secretary until 1990, when the Communist Party lost its monopoly of power over the political system. The office of President of the Soviet Union was established so that Gorbachev could still retain his role as leader of the Soviet Union. Following the failed August coup of 1991 , Gorbachev resigned as General Secretary. He was succeeded by his deputy, Vladimir Ivashko , who only served for five days as Acting General Secretary before Boris Yeltsin ,
595-656: The challenging job of Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament after the UN reforms of 1997, serving from 1998 to 2003. During his tenure, he piloted the UN's role in arresting the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, anti-personnel landmines, conventional weapons, and weapons of mass destruction while reinforcing existing norms and norm-building in other areas such as missiles. He also broke new ground both in-house in taking managerial initiatives in gender mainstreaming and in work-life issues, as well as in
630-488: The composition of party membership and to assign positions within the party. The General Secretary also oversaw the recording of party events, and was entrusted with keeping party leaders and members informed about party activities. When assembling his cabinet, Lenin appointed Joseph Stalin to be General Secretary. Over the next few years, Stalin was able to use the principles of democratic centralism to transform his office into that of party leader, and eventually leader of
665-699: The country because he refused to testify in that court's trial over the banning, Gorbachev described himself as the first " refusenik of Russia". In 1993, Gorbachev founded Green Cross International , a separate organization whose Russian national office is headquartered in the Gorbachev Foundation building. In 1995, the foundation hosted its first event, the State of the World Forum, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, which discussed international political goals of
700-705: The disarmament field by innovating the exchange of weapons for a development programme in Albania and other areas, and also in the cross-sectoral linking of disarmament with development, the environment and peace education programmes. Dhanapala was appointed Secretary-General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process (SCOPP) in Sri Lanka from 2004–2005. He was also Senior Special Advisor to both Presidents Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapakse during
735-564: The newly elected President of Russia , suspended all activity in the Communist Party. Following the party's ban, the Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP–CPSU) was established by Oleg Shenin in 1993, and is dedicated to reviving and restoring the CPSU. The organisation has members in all the former Soviet republics . Jayantha Dhanapala Jayantha Dhanapala ( Sinhala : ජයන්ත ධනපාල ; 30 December 1938 – 27 May 2023)
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#1732852112332770-411: The party secretariat due to his age, was rejected by the party congress, as delegates were unsure about Stalin's intentions. In the end, the congress formally abolished Stalin's office of General Secretary, although Stalin remained the highest-ranked party secretary and maintained ultimate control of the party. When Stalin died on 5 March 1953, Malenkov was considered to be the most important member of
805-525: The period 2005–2007 and Senior Special Advisor on Foreign Relations to President Maithripala Sirisena , 12 January 2015. Dhanapala was one of the seven official nominees for the 2006 United Nations Secretary-General selection . In the Security Council straw polls, he received the support from China, Congo, Ghana, Qatar and Tanzania, while Argentina, Denmark, France, Greece, Slovakia and the united Kingdom voted against Dhanapala with Japan, Peru, Russia and
840-481: The population would sustain the world economy, whereas 80% would be distracted by what Zbigniew Brzezinski criticized and purportedly called "tittytainment" a mindless form of entertainment. The first World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was held in 1999 as encouraged by the Gorbachev Foundation. Major World Summits have included the 2009 Berlin Summit celebrating the end of the Cold War and reunification of East and West,
875-566: The position of First Secretary. In 1964, opposition within the Politburo and the Central Committee, which had been increasing since the aftermath of the Cuban Missile Crisis , led to Khrushchev's removal from office. Leonid Brezhnev succeeded Khrushchev as First Secretary, but was initially obliged to govern as part of a collective leadership , forming another troika with Premier Alexei Kosygin and Chairman Nikolai Podgorny . The office
910-638: The race on 29 September 2006. From 2007 he was the president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs . Dhanapala was born in Sri Lanka on 30 December 1938. His family hails from the town of Matale . Dhanapala was educated at Trinity College in Kandy . He gained a reputation as an all-rounder as a schoolboy and was awarded the Ryde Gold Medal in 1956. At the age of 17 Jayantha Dhanapala won
945-475: The same name by Suzanne Massie , and guests included U.S. Ambassador John Huntsman , and former Soviet Foreign Minister Alexander Bessmertnykh . In August 2021, on the 30th anniversary of the failed 1991 coup by hardliners, Gorbachev published a statement through the foundation: "I believe that the democratic path of Russia's development is the only correct one, that only on this path can our country develop and solve any problems." General Secretary of
980-455: The scandal and remained in his post. After Lenin's death, Stalin began to consolidate his power by using the office of General Secretary. By 1928, he had unquestionably become the de facto leader of the USSR, while the position of General Secretary became the highest office in the nation. In 1934, the 17th Party Congress refrained from formally re-electing Stalin as General Secretary. However, Stalin
1015-540: The twelve sessions of the Congress. Some historians have regarded the premature death of prominent Bolshevik Yakov Sverdlov to have been a key factor in facilitating the elevation of Joseph Stalin to the position of leadership in the Soviet Union. In part, because Sverdlov served as the original chairman of the party secretariat and was considered a natural candidate for the position of General Secretary. Prior to Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin's tenure as General Secretary
1050-434: The twin objectives of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament and the concerns of the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states which was adopted without a vote. The New York Times observed that Jayantha Dhanapala 'was a diplomat mostly unknown outside the arms-control world until he was elected to preside over this conference.' Dhanapala was hand-picked by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan to take on
1085-589: Was a Sri Lankan diplomat. A career diplomat in the Sri Lanka Overseas Service , he served as the Under Secretary General to re-establish the Department of Disarmament from 1998 to 2003; Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva from 1984 to 1987; and Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States from 1994 to 1997. Dhanapala served as member of the Board of Sponsors of The Bulletin of
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1120-418: Was already being criticized. In Lenin's final months, he authored a pamphlet that called for Stalin's removal on the grounds that Stalin was becoming authoritarian and abusing his power. The pamphlet triggered a political crisis which endangered Stalin's position as General Secretary, and a vote was held to remove him from office. With the help of Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev , Stalin was able to survive
1155-479: Was appointed Ambassador in Geneva (1984–87)— he was also accredited to the UN and was appointed Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States of America based in Washington D.C. from 1995 to 1997. Dhanapala was widely acclaimed for his presidency of the 1995 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference, a landmark event in disarmament history, because of his crafting of a package of decisions balancing
1190-453: Was re-elected to all the other positions he held, and remained leader of the party without diminution. In the 1950s, Stalin increasingly withdrew from Secretariat business, leaving the supervision of the body to Georgy Malenkov , possibly to test his abilities as a potential successor. In October 1952, at the 19th Party Congress , Stalin restructured the party's leadership. His request, voiced through Malenkov, to be relieved of his duties in
1225-527: Was renamed to General Secretary in 1966. The collective leadership was able to limit the powers of the General Secretary during the Brezhnev Era . Brezhnev's influence grew throughout the 1970s as he was able to retain support by avoiding any radical reforms. After Brezhnev's death, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko were able to rule the country in the same way as Brezhnev had. Mikhail Gorbachev ruled
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