Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union, whose reform policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) helped end the Cold War and ultimately led to the dissolution of the USSR.
Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1985 and introduced sweeping reforms aimed at revitalizing the stagnant Soviet economy and increasing political transparency, policies that had far-reaching and unintended consequences.
His reforms eased censorship, allowed greater political freedom, and reduced Cold War tensions with the West, including landmark arms control agreements with U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
The reforms he introduced ultimately accelerated the collapse of communist governments across Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself in 1991. Gorbachev received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for his role in reducing Cold War tensions.