Alexei Kosygin
Early on in his tenure, Kosygin challenged Brezhnev's right as general secretary to represent the country abroad, a function Kosygin believed should fall into the hands of the head of government, as was common in non-communist countries. This was actually implemented for a short period,[16] which led Henry A. Kissinger to believe that Kosygin was the leader of the Soviet Union.[5] Kosygin, who had been the chief negotiator with the First World during the 1960s, was hardly to be seen outside the Second World[33] after Brezhnev consolidated his position within the Politburo,[16] but also due to Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko's dislike of Kosygin meddling into his own ministerial affairs.[34]