When was Michail Gorbachev elected General secretary ?
When Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary in 1985 , Ligachev was promoted to become a Secretary of higher status , and was generally viewed as one of Gorbachev ’s primary allies : he had helped organize a pro-Gorbachev faction in hope of having Gorbachev succeed Andropov in 1984 , although this attempt failed ( instead , Konstantin Chernenko was chosen as a stop - gap candidate ) .