THE SUPPORTING CAST

JAMES A. BAKER III: The 59-year-old secretary of state is one of President Bush’s closest advisers . . . has argued that Bush should respond positively to Gorbachev’s initiatives and take advantage of openings created by rapid changes in Eastern Europe . . . friend of Bush since 1950s . . . comes from one of Houston’s wealthiest and most prominent families . . . became involved in politics when Bush recruited him to work in his unsuccessful 1970 Senate race . . . was undersecretary of commerce in Gerald R. Ford Administration, then ran Ford’s reelection campaign in 1976 . . . ran Bush’s unsuccessful bid for GOP nomination in 1980, then ran Ronald Reagan’s reelection campaign . . . has been married twice--first wife died in 1970--and has eight children.

BRENT SCOWCROFT: Bush is chief decision-maker on foreign policy, but his 64-year-old national security adviser is senior theoretician . . . has spent most of his adult life working on East-West relations, beginning as one of Defense Department’s experts on Soviets . . . later became protege of former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, rising to take Kissinger’s place as national security adviser to Ford . . . like Bush, whom he has known since Ford years, when Bush served as director of CIA, he is cautious, suspicious of personal diplomacy and bold adventures in foreign affairs and inclined to be pessimistic about long-term prognosis for Gorbachev’s reform program . . . married and has one daughter.

JOHN H. SUNUNU: The 50-year-old former governor of New Hampshire is one of the most powerful White House chiefs of staff in history . . . managed most critical part of Bush’s quest for GOP presidential nomination--the New Hampshire primary victory . . . has strongly conservative views but much less influence over foreign affairs than domestic policy . . . former engineering professor at Tufts University outside Boston . . . known as brilliantly quick study whose cutting sense of humor and irascible temper intimidate many . . . Bush relies heavily on his political instincts and has delegated considerable authority to him . . . born in Havana, Cuba, to Lebanese parents . . . entered politics in 1973 as New Hampshire legislator and was elected governor 10 years later . . . married and has eight children.

EDUARD A. SHEVARDNADZE: The 61-year-old foreign minister is among Politburo members on whom Gorbachev relies most heavily . . . known as “the silver fox” for political acuity and white hair . . . ties to Gorbachev go back more than 25 years . . . born to teacher and began career in Communist Youth League . . . moved up hierarchy in his native Georgia to become first secretary of Georgian Communist Party in 1972 . . . helped maintain political peace between republic’s ardent nationalists and conservative party functionaries in Moscow . . . named foreign minister by Gorbachev in 1985 . . . has played a key role in introducing “new political thinking” into Kremlin’s diplomacy . . . U.S. and West European diplomats consider him a skillful negotiator . . . married and has two children.

ALEXANDER N. YAKOVLEV: The 66-year-old member of Communist Party’s Politburo is a secretary of party’s Central Committee and chairman of its international affairs commission . . . . . . regarded as ardent reformer and grand strategist of Gorbachev’s perestroika , or restructuring, program for Soviet society . . . has taken lead in improving relations with the United States . . . worked for nearly 20 years as Central Committee official . . . was banished from party headquarters in 1973 and sent to Canada as ambassador, reportedly for criticizing resurgent Russian nationalism . . . returned in 1983 as director of Kremlin think tank . . . named chief of Central Committee’s propaganda department in 1985, joined Politburo in 1987 . . . born to Russian peasants in Yaroslavl region and educated as teacher . . . spent 1959 at Columbia University . . . married with two children and two grandchildren.