Podgorny, Nikolai Viktorovich << pod GAWR nih, nih ko LY VEEK to ro vihch >> (1903-1983), was a Soviet politician who served as the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet from 1965 to 1977. The Presidium handled legislative matters between sessions of the Supreme Soviet, the Soviet Union’s legislature. Podgorny also was a member of the policymaking Politburo of the Communist Party’s Central Committee from 1960 to 1977.
Podgorny was born on Feb. 18, 1903. His birthplace was Karlovka (now Karlivka), Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire. He joined the Communist Party in 1930. In 1931, he graduated from a food institute in Kyiv. He worked in various administrative posts in the food industry from 1931 to 1946. The Kharkov (also spelled Kharkiv) regional party committee in Ukraine appointed him first secretary in 1950. Podgorny also served as first secretary of the Ukrainian Communist Party from 1957 to 1963. He died on Jan. 11, 1983.
