Dobrynin, Anatoly Fedorovich (1919– )

Soviet diplomat, ambassador to the USA 1962–86, emerging during the 1970s as a warm supporter of détente.

Dobrynin joined the Soviet diplomatic service in 1941. He served as counsellor at the Soviet embassy in Washington, DC, 1952–55, assistant to the minister for foreign affairs 1955–57, undersecretary at the United Nations 1957–59, and head of the USSR's US department 1959–61, before being appointed Soviet ambassador to Washington in 1962. He remained at this post for 25 years. Brought back to Moscow by the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, he was appointed to the Communist Party's Secretariat as head of its international department, before retiring in 1988.