Mikoyan, Anastas Ivanovich

Mikoyan, Anastas Ivanovich (ənəstäs` ēvä`nəvĭch myĭkəyän`), 1895–1978, Soviet Communist leader. He joined the Communist party in 1915, became a member of the party's central committee in 1923, and subsequently held cabinet posts concerned with trade and the food industry. In 1935 he was elected to the politburo, the ruling body of the central committee of the Communist party. He held other high government posts before serving (1955–57, 1958–64) as first deputy premier. In 1964–65, Mikoyan was chairman of the presidium of the Supreme Soviet, or titular head of state. Although not reelected to the politburo in 1966, he continued to serve on the central committee. In 1974 he was dropped from the Supreme Soviet and in 1976 from the central committee, thereby completing his retirement from public office.