Page "Politburo" Paragraph 3

In the Soviet Union for example, the General Secretary of the Communist Party did not necessarily hold a state office like president or prime minister to effectively control the system of government.

Instead, party members answerable to or controlled by the party held these posts, often as honorific posts as a reward for their long years of service to the party.

On other occasions, having governed as General Secretary, the party leader might assume a state office in addition.

For example, Mikhail Gorbachev initially did not hold the presidency of the Soviet Union, that office being given as an honour to former Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko.

Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for well over a decade before assuming the governmental position of Premier of the Soviet Union during World War II.