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In 1967, when Brezhnev wanted to strengthen party control of the KGB, Andropov was the consensus choice to lead the organization. He became a candidate member of the Politburo at the same time and a full voting member in 1973. During his 15 years at the head of the Soviet security and intelligence empire, Andropov transformed a demoralized organization into a thoroughly professional force capable not only of keeping order at home but of advancing Soviet interests abroad with growing sophistication. In contrast to predecessors who used mass terror to suppress dissent, Andropov employed a broad range of punishments selectively tailored for each nonconformist and effectively crushed the dissident movement, which he once dismissed as a "skillful propaganda invention."
Andropov altered the stereotype of the ham-fisted Soviet spy in the ill-fitting suit by encouraging KGB recruiters to go after the best that the Soviet academic world had to offer. KGB foreign agents grew more adept at pilfering high technology and stepped up efforts to spread Moscow's influence around the globe through propaganda and disinformation. But Turkish Gunman Men met Ali Agca's bungled attempt to kill Pope John Paul II in May 1981 tarnished the KGB's new image. Suspicions of a KGB link in the papal plot through Bulgarian surrogates gave rise to speculation that the Soviet agency still relied heavily on such dark arts as political assassination and clouded Andropov's time in power.
As Brezhnev's health began to falter, Andropov's influence with the Kremlin's inner circle grew. In May 1982, Andropov was relieved of his position as head of the KGB and promoted to the spot on the party's powerful Central Committee Secretariat that had been left vacant by the death of Ideologist Mikhail Suslov. It was seen as a move to "launder" Andropov for the top party post. When Brezhnev died six months later, Andropov had lined up enough support to beat back the challenge of Konstantin Chernenko, who was widely believed to be Brezhnev's personal choice for the post of party General Secretary.
Not only had Andropov gained influence during his years at KGB headquarters in Dzerzhinsky Square, but he appeared to be relatively untainted by the job. Some foreign observers even considered him to be a closet reformer. Word was spread around Moscow and Western capitals that he was really a secret liberal who read trashy American novels and listened to Chubby Checker albums. A rare Andropov interview published in the West German magazine Der Spiegel brought the rumor mill grinding to a halt. Andropov acknowledged that he had traditional tastes. He said that he did not play tennis but did enjoy Beethoven's "Pathétique" Sonata. But even these sparse revelations about his personal hie were not shared with the Soviet people.
Little was known about Andropov's family. It had been widely assumed that he was a widower, until his wife, Tatyana, appeared by his flower-decked coffin in Moscow's House of Trade Unions. His daughter Irina, married to an actor from Moscow's Taganka Theater, remained discreetly out of the public eye. Andropov's son Igor was a ranking member of the Soviet delegation to the Stockholm disarmament conference but also avoided the spotlight.