Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher pose for a picture in London, Saturday, Dec. 15, 1984.Gerald Penny/The Associated Press
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Mikhail Gorbachev (C), General Secretary of CPSU CC, is seen shaking hands with Babrak Karmal, General Secretary of the PDPA CC, Chairman of the Revolutionary Council of Afghanistan prior to their conversation in the Kremlin, March 14, 1985.STRINGER/Reuters
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Mikhail Gorbachev, center, attends the International Women's Day Gala at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on March 7, 1985.Boris Yurchenko/The Associated Press
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Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) meets U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Geneva, Switzerland on Nov. 19, 1985. The leaders met for the first time to hold talks on international diplomatic relations and the arms race.DENIS PAQUIN/Reuters
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Then Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) congratulates the East German Leader Erich Honecker with a fraternal hug and kiss after Honecker's re-election as General Secretary of the Communist Party Congress in East Berlin, in this April 21, 1986 file picture.Stringer ./Reuters
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President Ronald Reagan shakes hands with Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Iceland, on Oct. 11, 1986.Ron Edmonds/The Associated Press
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Mikhail Gorbachev holds onto his hat and the waist of his wife Raisa, who waves to reporters in spite of driving wind and rain as they board Ilyushing-62 at end of a summit in Reykjavik October 13, 1986.Stringer ./Reuters
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U.S. President Ronald Reagan, right, shakes hands with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Dec. 8, 1987, after the two leaders signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty to eliminate intermediate-range missiles during a ceremony in the White House East Room in Washington.BOB DAUGHERTY/The Associated Press
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Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) talks to President Ronald Reagan (C) and President-elect George Bush (R) on Dec. 7, 1988, shortly before lunch in the Admiral's House, home of the US Coast Guard's Atlantic Area commander.AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev (L) converses with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor castle on April 7, 1989, at the end of Gorbachev's official visit to Great Britain.ANDRE DE WET/AFP/Getty Images
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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, center, and Chinese President Yang Shangkun, left, review troops at Beijing's Capital Airport.Boris Yurchenko/AP
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Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife Raisa pose on China's Great Wall.Mark Avery/AP
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Chinese senior leader Deng Xiaoping (C) shakes hands with General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party Mikhail Gorbachev (L) on May 16, 1989.AFP Contributor#AFP/AFP/Getty Images
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Then-Finnish President Mauno Koivisto (L) looks on as then-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev talks to Moscow on a Nokia Mobira Cityman cellular phone in Helsinki on Oct. 26, 1989.Lehtikuva Lehtikuva/Reuters
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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev waves from the Red Square tribune during a Revolution Day celebration, in Moscow, Soviet Union on Nov. 7, 1989.Boris Yurchenko/The Associated Press
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Pope John Paul II talks with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev during an audience at the Vatican on Nov. 18, 1990.Reuters Photographer/Reuters
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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev gestures while speaking to Lithuanians at the Lenin monument in Vilnius, Soviet Union on Jan. 11, 1990.Victor Yurchenko/The Associated Press
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US President George Bush (L) and his Soviet counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev during a press conference in Moscow on July 31, 1991, concluding the two-day US-Soviet Summit dedicated to the disarmament.MIKE FISHER/AFP/Getty Images
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Russian President Boris Yeltsin (R) gestures towards Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow on August 23, 1991 while he enjoins him to read a paper during session of Russian Parliament.PIKO/AFP/Getty Images
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Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev checks the time on his watch before his resignation speech in the Kremlin on Dec. 25, 1991, drawing a line under more than 74 years of Soviet history.Liu Heung Shing/The Associated Press
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Former heads of state from L-R Brian Mulroney, Canada; Francois Mitterrand, France; host George Bush, USA; Mikhail Gorbachev, Russia; and Margaret Thatcher, Britain pose for a group picture during their panel discussion of the ending of the Cold War in Colorado Springs, Colorado.Gary C. Caskey/Reuters
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Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) listens to former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev during a news conference following bilateral talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at Schloss Gottorf Palace in the northern German town of Schleswig, Germany on Dec. 21, 2004.Christian Charisius/Reuters
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Former U.S. President Clinton, center, shares a laugh with Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, right, and Bono, left, of the rock group U2, before a dinner hosted by Mr. Gorbachev, at the Russian Embassy in New York in honor of the Frank Foundation Child Assistance International of Washington D.C. on March 10, 2002.Stephen Chernin/The Associated Press
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Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91, according to Russian news agencies citing hospital officials.
The former Soviet president forged arms-reduction deals with the United States and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain – which had divided Europe since the Second World War – and to bring about the reunification of Germany. He ended the Cold War without bloodshed, but failed to prevent the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
As news of Gorbachev’s death spread, world leaders and politicians posted tributes to his legacy on social media.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that Gorbachev had a “consequential impact” on the world.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that Gorbachev “changed the world for the better.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, tweeted that Gorbachev “opened the way for a free Europe.”
António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said Gorbachev was a “one of a kind statesman” on Twitter.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a tweet that Gorbachev’s “tireless commitment to opening up Soviet society remains an example to us all.” Liz Truss, a top contender to succeed Johnson as Conservative Party leader and prime minister, called for his “legacy of cooperation and peace” to prevail.
The leader of Britain’s Labour Party, Keir Starmer, called Gorbachev “one of the great figures of the 20th Century.”
Leaders from the U.S. acknowledged his death as well. Former secretary of state and current director of the Hoover Institution Condoleezza Rice described Gorbachev as “a man who tried to deliver a better life for his people.”
On Facebook, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute wrote about Gorbachev’s journey from political adversary to friend of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger tweeted that Gorbachev “will be remembered for all time as a hero who dismantled the communist system despite what it meant for his own power.”
Imagine rising to the very top of any organization, and then having the wisdom AND the courage to look around and say, “This doesn’t work for the people, someone has to fix it. If not me, who? If not now, when?”
After the news of his death, social media users also shared a 1997 Pizza Hut commercial, which featured Gorbachev. In the commercial, two Pizza Hut diners argue over the leader’s legacy, until a third diner settles the debate, saying “Because of him we have many things … like Pizza Hut.”
With files from Reuters
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