Yefrem Yevseyevich Sokolov (russian: Ефре́м Евсе́евич Соколо́в; be, Яфрэ́м Яўсе́евіч Сакало́ў, 25 April 1926 – 5 April 2022) was a Belarusian politician, who served as a first secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussian SSR from February 1987 to November 1990. Sokolov was a member of the 28th

Politburo A politburo () or political bureau is the executive committee for communist parties. It is present in most former and existing communist states. Names The term "politburo" in English comes from the Russian ''Politbyuro'' (), itself a contracti ...

, elected on 14 July 1990 by the 1st Plenary Session of the 28th Central Committee.

Biography

He was born into a Belarusian peasant family. From 1944 to the end of the decade he served in the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, then worked as a driver on a farm of the Belarusian State Agricultural Academy, where he graduated from in 1956. It was here where he joined the CPSU and in 1961, he graduated from the Higher Party School in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. In 1969, he became part of the apparatus of the Central Committee and was in 1977 appointed party chief for Brest. From 6 February 1987 to 30 November 1990, he was First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus, being the last one to serve as the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

'' head of the Byelorussian SSR. From 1989–1991, he was a member of the

Supreme Soviet of the USSR The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...

. Since 1990, he had been a pensioner and continued political activities such as heading the Council of the Communist Party of Belarus. Sokolov's death was announced on 5 April 2022, at the age of 95.Умер один из последних глав БССР
/ref>

References

1926 births 2022 deaths People from Horki District Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union candidate members Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union members Presidium of the Supreme Soviet Tenth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Eleventh convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Tenth convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Eleventh convocation members of the Soviet of Nationalities Members of the Congress of People's Deputies of the Soviet Union Heads of the Communist Party of Byelorussia Communist Party of Byelorussia politicians Members of the Supreme Soviet of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour {{Belarus-politician-stub