Mikheil Saakashvili
Encyclopedia
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian
politician
, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.
Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze
resigned in a November 2003 bloodless "Rose Revolution
" led by Saakashvili and his political allies, Nino Burjanadze
and Zurab Zhvania
. Saakashvili was re-elected in the Georgian presidential election
on 5 January 2008. He is widely regarded as a pro-NATO and pro-USA leader who spearheaded a series of political and economic reforms. In 2010, he had a 67% approval rating despite being criticized by the opposition for his alleged authoritarian tendencies and electoral fraud
.
Some non-Georgian sources spell Saakashvili's first name via the Russian version of the name Mikhail. In Georgia, he is commonly known as "Misha," a hypocorism for Mikheil.
, capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union
, to a Georgian intelligentsia
family. His father, Nikoloz Saakashvili, is a physician who practices medicine in Tbilisi and directs a local Balneological Center. His mother, Giuli Alasania
, is a historian who lectures at Tbilisi State University
.
During University, he served his shortened military service with the Soviet Border Troops in 1989/90.
Saakashvili graduated from the Institute of International Relations (Department of International Law) of the Kiev State University
(Ukraine
) in 1992. He briefly worked as a human rights
officer for the interim State Council of Georgia following the overthrow of President Zviad Gamsakhurdia
before receiving a fellowship from the United States State Department (via the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program
). He received an LL.M.
from Columbia Law School
in 1994 and took classes at The George Washington University Law School
the following year. In 1995, he also received a diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights
in Strasbourg
, France.
After graduation, while on internship in the New York law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
in early 1995, Saakashvili was approached by Zurab Zhvania
, an old friend from Georgia who was working on behalf of President Eduard Shevardnadze
to enter politics. He stood in the December 1995 elections along with Zhvania, and both men won seats in parliament
, standing for the Union of Citizens of Georgia
, Shevardnadze's party.
Saakashvili was chairman of the parliamentary committee which was in charge of creating a new electoral system, an independent judiciary and a non-political police force. Opinion surveys recognised him to be the second most popular person in Georgia, behind Shevardnadze. He was named "man of the year" by a panel of journalists and human rights advocates in 1997. In January 2000, Saakashvili was appointed Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
.
On 12 October 2000, Saakashvili became Minister of Justice for the government of President Shevardnadze. He initiated major reforms in the Georgian criminal justice and prisons system. This earned praise from international observers and human rights activists. But in mid-2001 he became involved in a major controversy with the Economics Minister Ivane Chkhartishvili, State Security Minister Vakhtang Kutateladze and Tbilisi police chief Ioseb Alavidze, accusing them of profiting from corrupt business deals.
Saakashvili resigned on 5 September 2001, saying that "I consider it immoral for me to remain as a member of Shevardnadze's government." He declared that corruption had penetrated to the very center of the Georgian government and that Shevardnadze lacked the will to deal with it, warning that "current developments in Georgia will turn the country into a criminal enclave in one or two years."
, to provide a focus for part of the Georgian reformists leaders. In June 2002, he was elected as the Chairman of the Tbilisi Assembly ("Sakrebulo") following an agreement between the United National Movement and the Georgian Labour Party
. This gave him a powerful new platform from which to criticize the government.
Georgia held parliamentary elections
on 2 November 2003 which were denounced by local and international observers as being grossly rigged. Saakashvilli claimed that he had won the elections (a claim supported by independent exit polls), and urged Georgians to demonstrate against Shevardnadze's government and engage in nonviolent civil disobedience
against the authorities. Saakashvili's UNM and Burdjanadze-Democrats united to demand the ouster of Shevardnadze and the rerun of the elections.
Massive political demonstrations were held in Tbilisi in November, with over 100,000 people participating and listening to speeches by Saakashvili and other opposition figures. The Kmara
("Enough!") youth organization (a Georgian counterpart of the Serbia
n "Otpor
") and several NGO
s, like Liberty Institute
, were active in all protest activities. After an increasingly tense two weeks of demonstrations, Shevardnadze resigned as President on 23 November, to be replaced on an interim basis by parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze
. While the revolutionary leaders did their best to stay within the constitutional norms, many called the change of government a popular coup dubbed by Georgian media as the Rose Revolution
.
Saakashvili's "storming of Georgia's parliament" in 2003 "put U.S. diplomats off guard. .... [Saakashvili] ousted a leader the U.S. had long backed, Eduard Shevardnadze." Seeking support, Saakashvili went outside the U.S. State Department. He hired Randy Scheunemann, now Sen. John McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, as a lobbyist and used Daniel Kunin of USAID and the NDI as a full-time adviser.
On 24 February 2004 the United National Movement and the United Democrats had amalgamated. The new political movement was named the National Movement - Democrats
(NMD). The movement's main political priorities include raising pensions and providing social services to the poor, its main base of support; fighting corruption; and increasing state revenue.
On 4 January 2004 Mikheil Saakashvili won the presidential elections in Georgia with more than 96% of the votes cast, making him the youngest national president in Europe. Saakashvili ran on a platform of opposing corruption and improving pay and pensions. He has promised to improve relations with the outside world. Although he is strongly pro-Western and intends to seek Georgian membership of NATO and the European Union
, he has also spoken of the importance of better relations with Russia. He faces major problems, however, particularly Georgia's difficult economic situation and the still unresolved question of separatism in the regions of Abkhazia
and South Ossetia
. Abkhazia regards itself as independent of Georgia and did not take part in the elections, while South Ossetia favours union with its northern counterpart in Russia.
Saakashvili was sworn in as President in Tbilisi on 25 January 2004. Immediately after the ceremony he signed a decree establishing a new state flag. On 26 January, in a ceremony held at the Tbilisi Kashueti Church of Saint George, he promulgated a decree granting permission for the return of the body of the first President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia
, from Grozny
(Chechen Republic) to Tbilisi and renaming a major road in the capital after Gamsakhurdia. He also released 32 Gamsakhurdia supporters (political prisoners) imprisoned by the Shevardnadze government in 1993-94.
In the first months of his presidency, Saakashvili faced a major political crisis
in the southwestern Autonomous Republic
of Adjara
run by an authoritarian regional leader, Aslan Abashidze
, who largely ignored the central Georgian government and was viewed by many as a pro-Russian politician. The crisis threatened to develop into an armed confrontation, but Saakashvili's government managed to resolve the conflict peacefully, forcing Abashidze to resign on 6 May 2004. Success in Adjara encouraged the new president to intensify his efforts towards bringing the breakaway South Ossetia back under the Georgian jurisdiction. The separatist authorities responded with intense militarization in the region, that led to armed clashes in August 2004. A stalemate ensued, and despite a new peace plan proposed by the Georgian government in 2005, the conflict remains unresolved. In late July 2006, Saakashvili's government managed to deal successfully with another major crisis
, this time in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge where Georgia's police forces disarmed a defiant militia led by a local warlord Emzar Kvitsiani
.
Although President Saakashvili's reforms are considered to have been of mixed success, the rate of corruption in the country has drastically reduced. According to the World Bank
, Georgia is named as the number one economic reformer in the world and the country ranks 11th in terms of ease of doing business- while most of the country's neighbours are ranked somewhere in the hundreds.
In his foreign policy, Saakashvili maintains close ties with the U.S., as well as other NATO countries, and remains one of the key partners of the GUAM
organisation. The Saakashvili-led Rose Revolution
has been described by the White House
as one of the most powerful movements in the modern history that has inspired others to seek freedom.
sold bonds at premium, when $200m five-year bond was priced with a coupon of 9 per cent at par, or 100 per cent of face value, after initially being priced at 9.5 per cent and investors pushed orders up to $600m.
President Saakashvili sees membership of the NATO as a premise of stability for Georgia and offered an intensified dialogue with the de facto Abkhaz and Ossetian authorities. Until the 2008 South Ossetia war
, a diplomatic solution was thought to be possible. Saakashvili's administration doubled the number of its troops in Iraq
, making Georgia one of the biggest supporters of Coalition Forces, and keeping its troops in Kosovo
and Afghanistan
to "contribute to what it describes as global security".
Saakashvili's government maintains diplomatic relations with other Caucasian states and Eastern European countries, such as Armenia
, Azerbaijan
, Estonia
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Poland, Romania
, Turkey
and Ukraine
. In 2004, Saakashvili visited Israel to attend the official opening of the Modern Energy Problems Research Center, and Dr. Brenda Schaffer, the director of the center, described Saakashvili as the Nelson Mandela of the 21st century. In August of the same year, Saakashvili, who holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa
, travelled to Israel to attend the opening of the official Week of Georgian-Jewish Friendship, held under the auspices of the Georgian President, for which the Jewish leaders were invited as honoured guests.
On 12 October 2007 Saakashvili officially visited Åland Islands
, an autonomous region of Finland, and was informed about how the autonomy is organised.
Relations with the United States are good, but are complicated by Saakashvili's "volatile" behaviour. Former and current U.S. officials characterize the Georgian president as "difficult to manage". They criticize his "risky moves", moves that have often "caught the U.S. unprepared" while leaving it "exposed diplomatically".
Saakashvili's ties with the U.S. go back to 1991 (see Early life and career). Biographies of Thomas Jefferson
and John F. Kennedy
can be found in his office, next to biographies of Joseph Stalin
and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
and books on war. Seeking U.S. support, Saakashvili went outside the United States Department of State
and established contacts with Sen. John McCain
and forces seeking NATO expansion.
Saakashvili believes that the long-term priority for the country is to advance its membership in the European Community and during a meeting with Javier Solana
, he said that in contrast with new and old European states, Georgia is an Ancient European state.
was giving a speech in Tbilisi's Freedom Square
, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live hand grenade at where Saakashvili and Bush were sitting. It landed in the crowd about 65 feet (19.8 m) from the podium after hitting a girl and did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested in July of that year, but before his capture he managed to kill one law enforcement agent. He was convicted of the attempted assassinations of Saakashvili and Bush and the murder of the agent, and given a life sentence.
, Saakashvili's erstwhile associate and former member of his government, against the president and his allies. The protests climaxed early in November 2007, and involved several opposition groups and the influential media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili
. Although the demonstrations rapidly went downhill, the government's decision to use police force against the remaining protesters evolved into clashes in the streets of Tbilisi
on 7 November. The declaration of state of emergency by the president (7 November-16) and the restriction imposed on some mass media sources led to harsh criticism of the Saakashvili government both in the country and abroad. Human Rights Watch
criticised the Georgian government for using "excessive" force against protesters in November and International Crisis Group
warned of growing authoritarianism.
On 8 November 2007, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold early presidential elections
for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a plebiscite in parallel
to snap presidential elections about when to hold parliamentary polls
– in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008. Several concessions in the election code were also made to the opposition.
On 23 November 2007, the ruling United National Movement party officially nominated Saakashvili as its candidate for the upcoming elections. Pursuant to the Constitution of Georgia
, Saakashvili resigned on 25 November to launch his pre-election campaign for early presidential polls.
well before Georgian presidential elections
. Shortly after being re-elected, the president formally re-appointed the Prime Minister of Georgia
Lado Gurgenidze and asked him to present a renewed cabinet to the Parliament of Georgia
for final approval.
Gurgenidze changed most ministers, leaving Ivane Merabishvili, controversial Minister for Home Affairs, Defence Minister David Kezerashvili and Minister of Finance Nika Gilauri on their former positions. Gia Nodia was appointed as the Minister of Education and Science. Zaza Gamcemlidze, former director of Tbilisi Botanic Garden, took over the position of the Minister of Human Resources and Nature Protection. Famous archaeologist, and already the eldest minister in the cabinet, Iulon Gagoshidze was appointed on a newly designated position of the Minister of State for Diasporas.
Parliamentary elections held during Saakashvili's second term were condemned by the OSCE election monitoring mission for being marred by ballot stuffing
, violence against opposition campaigners, uncritical coverage of the president and his party from the state-controlled media, and public officials openly campaigning for the president's party.http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/09/32898_en.pdf
On 28 October 2008, Mikheil Saakashvili proposed Grigol Mgaloblishvili
, Georgian Ambassador to Turkey
for the premiership. According to the President, Gurgenidze had initially agreed to serve only for a year and that Georgia was facing new challenges which needed new approach. The Parliament of Georgia
approved Mgaloblishvili as the premier on 1 November 2008.
, in his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo
. The presidents discussed the issues of aviation
regulations between the two countries. This was Putin's last meeting as the President of Russia, having been succeeded by Dimitry Medvedev.
However, a series of clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian forces resulted in Saakashvili ordering an attack on Tskhinvali
. In response, the Russian army invaded South Ossetia, later followed by the invasion of Georgia proper. The two counterparts were led to a ceasefire agreement and a six-point peace plan, due to the French President
's mediation. On 26 August the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev
, signed a decree recognizing Abkhazia
and South Ossetia
as independent states. On August 29, 2008, in response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze
announced that Georgia had broken diplomatic relations with Russia
.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
holds Saakashvili responsible for the 2008 South Ossetia war
, and states that Saakashvili is responsible for the collapse of the Georgian state. Medvedev has stated "(a)s soon as Georgia gets a new leader we will have every opportunity to restore ties."
and a consequent resignation of President
Eduard Shevardnadze
. It is well-known for a very high level of electoral turnout
and also for the number of votes cast for one particular presidential candidate — Mikheil Saakashvili (96%). All other candidates received less than 2% of the votes. In total, 1,763,000 eligible voters participated in the election.
was held nationwide with the exception of highland village Shatili
, where the polling station
was not opened due to the high levels of snowfall. In line with the predictions of various exit polls, the central election commission's result stated that Saakaashvili had won 53.4% of votes cast, compared to his opponent, 43-year-old wine producer Levan Gachechiladze
, with 27%. According to Georgian Central Electoral Commission, as of 8 January 2008, which already included the votes from more polling stations than the earlier reports, Saakashvili was leading with 52.21%, Gachechiladze following him with only 25.26% of the votes.
against Saakashvili's rule. On May 5, 2009, Georgian police said large-scale disorders were planned in Georgia of which the failed army mutiny was part. According to the police, Saakashvili's assassination had also been plotted. Opposition figures dispute the claim of an attempted mutiny and instead say that troops refused an illegal order to use force against opposition demonstrators
volcano, because of which airspace over most of Europe has been closed, made his way to Polish president L.Kaczynski's funeral
. It was a real bid of farewell, because dozens of foreign mourners cancelled plans to participate in the funeral, fearing for their safety. Mikheil Saakasvhili was flying from USA and first landed in Portugal, then Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania and finally found himself in Kraków airport, just on time to meet the funeral conduct walking to Wawel Cathedral.
In November 2007, Saakashvili came under criticism for dispersing with rubber bullets and tear gas hundreds of protesters who were blocking Tbilisi
's main transport artery, Rustaveli Avenue
. The demonstrations started as protest against the arrest of two well-known sportsmen accused in blackmail but soon grew into a demonstration against the central authorities. 25 people were arrested including 5 members of opposition parties. In November 2007 another series of demonstrations
forced Saakashvili to set the pre-scheduled presidential elections for 5 January 2008.
The deceased Georgian businessman Arkady Patarkatsishvili claimed that pressure had been exerted on his financial interests after Imedi Television
broadcast several accusations against officials. On 25 October 2007, former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili
accused the president of planning Patarkatsishvili's murder. Okruashvili was detained two days later on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office. However, in a videotaped confession released by the General Prosecutor's Office on 8 October 2007, in which Okruashvili pleaded guilty to large-scale bribery through extortion and negligence while serving as minister, he retracted his accusations against the president and said that he did so to gain some political benefit and that Badri Patarkatsishvili told him to do so. Okruashvili's lawyer and other opposition leaders said his retraction had been made under duress.
Patarkatsishvili's opposition television station Imedi was shut down in November 2007 after the authorities have accused it of complicity with the plot to overthrow the elected government. The channel resumed broadcasts a few weeks following the incident, but did not cover news or talk shows until after the election. Subsequently the station was sold on to supporters of the Saakashvili government and some Georgian journalists have called for the station to be handed back.
In the 2010 study Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War, political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way cite various media and human rights reports to describe Saakashvili's Georgia as a "competitive authoritarian" (i.e., a formally democratic but essentially non-democratic) state.
The scrupulousness of Patarkatsishvili's political opposition toward the Georgian president has been questioned by the Jamestown Foundation's political analyst Vladimir Socor
who attributed the businessman's discontentment to Saakashvili's anti-corruption reforms, which "had severely curtailed Patarkatsishvili's scope for doing business in his accustomed, post-Soviet 1990s-style ways." Patarkatsishvili - who had fled the Russian authorities after allegations of fraud - was called "a state criminal" by Saakashvili, who accused him of treason while refusing to admit to any of his accusations.
, whom he met in 1993. The couple has two sons, Eduard and Nikoloz.
Apart from his native Georgian
, he speaks fluent English
, French
, Russian
, and Ukrainian
, and has some command of Ossetian
and Spanish
.
in the 2010 Hollywood film 5 Days of War by Finnish-American film director Renny Harlin
. The film will tell the story of Saakashvili and the events during the 2008 South Ossetia war
.
|-
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, the third and current President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party.
Involved in the national politics since 1995, Saakashvili became president on 25 January 2004 after President Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
resigned in a November 2003 bloodless "Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
" led by Saakashvili and his political allies, Nino Burjanadze
Nino Burjanadze
Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008...
and Zurab Zhvania
Zurab Zhvania
Zurab Zhvania was a prominent Georgian politician, having served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia as well as Minister without Portfolio. Zhvania assumed premiership on 18 February 2004 and remained on the position until his death on 3 February 2005...
. Saakashvili was re-elected in the Georgian presidential election
Georgian presidential election, 2008
A presidential election was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, having been brought forward by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations from the original date in autumn 2008....
on 5 January 2008. He is widely regarded as a pro-NATO and pro-USA leader who spearheaded a series of political and economic reforms. In 2010, he had a 67% approval rating despite being criticized by the opposition for his alleged authoritarian tendencies and electoral fraud
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
.
Some non-Georgian sources spell Saakashvili's first name via the Russian version of the name Mikhail. In Georgia, he is commonly known as "Misha," a hypocorism for Mikheil.
Early life and career
Mikheil Saakashvili was born in TbilisiTbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, capital of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, to a Georgian intelligentsia
Intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a social class of people engaged in complex, mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them...
family. His father, Nikoloz Saakashvili, is a physician who practices medicine in Tbilisi and directs a local Balneological Center. His mother, Giuli Alasania
Giuli Alasania
Giuli G. Alasania , a Georgian historian and public figure, Doctor of Sciences , Professor , Vice-Rector of the International Black Sea University in Tbilisi, Head of the Stewardship Council and Professor of the , former Georgian University of Social Sciences , Fellow of the World Academy...
, is a historian who lectures at Tbilisi State University
Tbilisi State University
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University , better known as Tbilisi State University , is a university established on 8 February 1918 in Tbilisi, Georgia. TSU is the oldest university in the whole Caucasus region...
.
During University, he served his shortened military service with the Soviet Border Troops in 1989/90.
Saakashvili graduated from the Institute of International Relations (Department of International Law) of the Kiev State University
Kiev University
Taras Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv , colloquially known in Ukrainian as KNU is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. It is the third oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and Kharkiv University. Currently, its structure...
(Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) in 1992. He briefly worked as a human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
officer for the interim State Council of Georgia following the overthrow of President Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
before receiving a fellowship from the United States State Department (via the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program
Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program
Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State....
). He received an LL.M.
Master of Laws
The Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
from Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School, founded in 1858, is one of the oldest and most prestigious law schools in the United States. A member of the Ivy League, Columbia Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Columbia University in New York City. It offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S.D. degrees in...
in 1994 and took classes at The George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School
The George Washington University Law School, commonly referred to as GW Law, is the law school of The George Washington University. It was founded in 1825 and is the oldest law school in Washington, D.C. The school is accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the...
the following year. In 1995, he also received a diploma from the International Institute of Human Rights
International Institute of Human Rights
The International Institute of Human Rights is an association under French local law based in Strasbourg, France...
in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
, France.
After graduation, while on internship in the New York law firm of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP , founded in 1919, is a law firm headquartered in New York City.-Notable alumni:*Attorney General of the United States and former federal judge Michael B...
in early 1995, Saakashvili was approached by Zurab Zhvania
Zurab Zhvania
Zurab Zhvania was a prominent Georgian politician, having served as Prime Minister of Georgia and Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia as well as Minister without Portfolio. Zhvania assumed premiership on 18 February 2004 and remained on the position until his death on 3 February 2005...
, an old friend from Georgia who was working on behalf of President Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
to enter politics. He stood in the December 1995 elections along with Zhvania, and both men won seats in parliament
Parliament of Georgia
Parliament of Georgia is the supreme legislature of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, from which 75 members are proportional representatives and 75 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies...
, standing for the Union of Citizens of Georgia
Union of Citizens of Georgia
The Union of Citizens of Georgia is a centre-left political party established by Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia between 1992-2003 and David Chantladze, former General Trade Representative of Soviet Union to Czechoslovakia...
, Shevardnadze's party.
Saakashvili was chairman of the parliamentary committee which was in charge of creating a new electoral system, an independent judiciary and a non-political police force. Opinion surveys recognised him to be the second most popular person in Georgia, behind Shevardnadze. He was named "man of the year" by a panel of journalists and human rights advocates in 1997. In January 2000, Saakashvili was appointed Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
.
On 12 October 2000, Saakashvili became Minister of Justice for the government of President Shevardnadze. He initiated major reforms in the Georgian criminal justice and prisons system. This earned praise from international observers and human rights activists. But in mid-2001 he became involved in a major controversy with the Economics Minister Ivane Chkhartishvili, State Security Minister Vakhtang Kutateladze and Tbilisi police chief Ioseb Alavidze, accusing them of profiting from corrupt business deals.
Saakashvili resigned on 5 September 2001, saying that "I consider it immoral for me to remain as a member of Shevardnadze's government." He declared that corruption had penetrated to the very center of the Georgian government and that Shevardnadze lacked the will to deal with it, warning that "current developments in Georgia will turn the country into a criminal enclave in one or two years."
In the United National Movement
Having resigned from the government and quit the Shevardnadze-run Union of Citizens of Georgia party, Saakashvili founded the United National Movement (UNM) in October 2001, a right-of-center political party with a touch of nationalismNationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, to provide a focus for part of the Georgian reformists leaders. In June 2002, he was elected as the Chairman of the Tbilisi Assembly ("Sakrebulo") following an agreement between the United National Movement and the Georgian Labour Party
Georgian Labour Party
The Georgian Labour Party is a political party in Georgia. The party is led by its founder Shalva Natelashvili.Its main goal is to make Georgia a democratic country and eventually to become a member of the European Union...
. This gave him a powerful new platform from which to criticize the government.
Georgia held parliamentary elections
Georgia legislative election, 2003
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of Georgia on November 2, 2003. According to statistics released by the Georgian Election Commission, the elections were won by a combination of parties supporting President Eduard Shevardnadze....
on 2 November 2003 which were denounced by local and international observers as being grossly rigged. Saakashvilli claimed that he had won the elections (a claim supported by independent exit polls), and urged Georgians to demonstrate against Shevardnadze's government and engage in nonviolent civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
against the authorities. Saakashvili's UNM and Burdjanadze-Democrats united to demand the ouster of Shevardnadze and the rerun of the elections.
Massive political demonstrations were held in Tbilisi in November, with over 100,000 people participating and listening to speeches by Saakashvili and other opposition figures. The Kmara
Kmara
Kmara is a civic resistance movement in the republic of Georgia which undermined the government of Eduard Shevardnadze. After international observers condemned his government's conduct of the November 2003 parliamentary elections, Kmara led the protests which precipitated his downfall in what...
("Enough!") youth organization (a Georgian counterpart of the Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n "Otpor
Otpor
Otpor! was a civic youth movement that existed as such from 1998 until 2003 in Serbia , employing nonviolent struggle against the regime of Slobodan Milošević as their course of action. In the course of two-year nonviolent struggle against Milosevic, Otpor spread across Serbia and attracted more...
") and several NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s, like Liberty Institute
Liberty Institute (Georgia)
Liberty Institute is a Georgian research and advocacy organization affiliated with Ilia Chavchavadze State University.Liberty has always been the cornerstone of established Georgian values. It has been transformed into classical liberal tradition by Ilia Chavchavadze...
, were active in all protest activities. After an increasingly tense two weeks of demonstrations, Shevardnadze resigned as President on 23 November, to be replaced on an interim basis by parliamentary speaker Nino Burjanadze
Nino Burjanadze
Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008...
. While the revolutionary leaders did their best to stay within the constitutional norms, many called the change of government a popular coup dubbed by Georgian media as the Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
.
Saakashvili's "storming of Georgia's parliament" in 2003 "put U.S. diplomats off guard. .... [Saakashvili] ousted a leader the U.S. had long backed, Eduard Shevardnadze." Seeking support, Saakashvili went outside the U.S. State Department. He hired Randy Scheunemann, now Sen. John McCain's top foreign-policy adviser, as a lobbyist and used Daniel Kunin of USAID and the NDI as a full-time adviser.
On 24 February 2004 the United National Movement and the United Democrats had amalgamated. The new political movement was named the National Movement - Democrats
National Movement - Democrats
United National Movement is the main center-right party, largest political organization and current governing party in Georgia.- History :UNM was founded in October 2001 by Mikheil Saakashvili...
(NMD). The movement's main political priorities include raising pensions and providing social services to the poor, its main base of support; fighting corruption; and increasing state revenue.
First Term
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, he has also spoken of the importance of better relations with Russia. He faces major problems, however, particularly Georgia's difficult economic situation and the still unresolved question of separatism in the regions of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
and South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
. Abkhazia regards itself as independent of Georgia and did not take part in the elections, while South Ossetia favours union with its northern counterpart in Russia.
Saakashvili was sworn in as President in Tbilisi on 25 January 2004. Immediately after the ceremony he signed a decree establishing a new state flag. On 26 January, in a ceremony held at the Tbilisi Kashueti Church of Saint George, he promulgated a decree granting permission for the return of the body of the first President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Zviad Gamsakhurdia was a dissident, scientist and writer, who became the first democratically elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era...
, from Grozny
Grozny
Grozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
(Chechen Republic) to Tbilisi and renaming a major road in the capital after Gamsakhurdia. He also released 32 Gamsakhurdia supporters (political prisoners) imprisoned by the Shevardnadze government in 1993-94.
In the first months of his presidency, Saakashvili faced a major political crisis
Adjara crisis
The Adjara crisis refers to a political crisis in Georgia’s Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President Eduard Shevardnadze’s ousting during the Rose Revolution of November 2003. The crisis threatened to develop into military...
in the southwestern Autonomous Republic
Autonomous republic
An autonomous republic is a type of administrative division similar to a province. A significant number of autonomous republics can be found within the successor states of the Soviet Union, but the majority are located within Russia. Many of these republics were established during the Soviet...
of Adjara
Adjara
Adjara , officially the Autonomous Republic of Adjara , is an autonomous republic of Georgia.Adjara is located in the southwestern corner of Georgia, bordered by Turkey to the south and the eastern end of the Black Sea...
run by an authoritarian regional leader, Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze was the leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia from 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pressure of the central Georgian government and mass opposition rallies during the 2004 Adjara crisis, and has since lived in Moscow, Russia...
, who largely ignored the central Georgian government and was viewed by many as a pro-Russian politician. The crisis threatened to develop into an armed confrontation, but Saakashvili's government managed to resolve the conflict peacefully, forcing Abashidze to resign on 6 May 2004. Success in Adjara encouraged the new president to intensify his efforts towards bringing the breakaway South Ossetia back under the Georgian jurisdiction. The separatist authorities responded with intense militarization in the region, that led to armed clashes in August 2004. A stalemate ensued, and despite a new peace plan proposed by the Georgian government in 2005, the conflict remains unresolved. In late July 2006, Saakashvili's government managed to deal successfully with another major crisis
2006 Kodori crisis
The 2006 Kodori crisis erupted in late July 2006 in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, when a local militia leader declared his opposition to the Government of Georgia, which sent police forces to disarm the rebels...
, this time in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge where Georgia's police forces disarmed a defiant militia led by a local warlord Emzar Kvitsiani
Emzar Kvitsiani
Emzar Kvitsiani was a Georgian presidential representative in the Kodori Gorge.- 2006 Kodori crisis :...
.
Although President Saakashvili's reforms are considered to have been of mixed success, the rate of corruption in the country has drastically reduced. According to the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, Georgia is named as the number one economic reformer in the world and the country ranks 11th in terms of ease of doing business- while most of the country's neighbours are ranked somewhere in the hundreds.
In his foreign policy, Saakashvili maintains close ties with the U.S., as well as other NATO countries, and remains one of the key partners of the GUAM
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
organisation. The Saakashvili-led Rose Revolution
Rose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
has been described by the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
as one of the most powerful movements in the modern history that has inspired others to seek freedom.
Economic policy
Georgia has become involved in international market transactions to a small extent, and in 2007 Bank of GeorgiaBank of Georgia
JSC Bank of Georgia is a leading Georgian universal bank, providing a full range of commercial and investment banking, wealth management, insurance, trade finance, leasing and card processing services to its corporate and retail clients...
sold bonds at premium, when $200m five-year bond was priced with a coupon of 9 per cent at par, or 100 per cent of face value, after initially being priced at 9.5 per cent and investors pushed orders up to $600m.
Foreign relations
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
, a diplomatic solution was thought to be possible. Saakashvili's administration doubled the number of its troops in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, making Georgia one of the biggest supporters of Coalition Forces, and keeping its troops in Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to "contribute to what it describes as global security".
Saakashvili's government maintains diplomatic relations with other Caucasian states and Eastern European countries, such as Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Poland, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 2004, Saakashvili visited Israel to attend the official opening of the Modern Energy Problems Research Center, and Dr. Brenda Schaffer, the director of the center, described Saakashvili as the Nelson Mandela of the 21st century. In August of the same year, Saakashvili, who holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Haifa
University of Haifa
The University of Haifa is a university in Haifa, Israel.The University of Haifa was founded in 1963 by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi, to operate under the academic auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem....
, travelled to Israel to attend the opening of the official Week of Georgian-Jewish Friendship, held under the auspices of the Georgian President, for which the Jewish leaders were invited as honoured guests.
On 12 October 2007 Saakashvili officially visited Åland Islands
Åland Islands
The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...
, an autonomous region of Finland, and was informed about how the autonomy is organised.
Relations with the United States are good, but are complicated by Saakashvili's "volatile" behaviour. Former and current U.S. officials characterize the Georgian president as "difficult to manage". They criticize his "risky moves", moves that have often "caught the U.S. unprepared" while leaving it "exposed diplomatically".
Saakashvili's ties with the U.S. go back to 1991 (see Early life and career). Biographies of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
can be found in his office, next to biographies of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
and books on war. Seeking U.S. support, Saakashvili went outside the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and established contacts with Sen. John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
and forces seeking NATO expansion.
Saakashvili believes that the long-term priority for the country is to advance its membership in the European Community and during a meeting with Javier Solana
Javier Solana
Francisco Javier Solana de Madariaga, KOGF is a Spanish physicist and Socialist politician. After serving in the Spanish government under Felipe González and Secretary General of NATO , he was appointed the European Union's High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Secretary...
, he said that in contrast with new and old European states, Georgia is an Ancient European state.
Assassination attempt
On 10 May 2005, while U.S. President George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
was giving a speech in Tbilisi's Freedom Square
Freedom Square, Tbilisi
Freedom Square , formerly known as Erivan Square under Imperial Russia and Lenin Square under the Soviet Union, is located in the center of Tbilisi at the eastern end of...
, Vladimir Arutyunian threw a live hand grenade at where Saakashvili and Bush were sitting. It landed in the crowd about 65 feet (19.8 m) from the podium after hitting a girl and did not detonate. Arutyunian was arrested in July of that year, but before his capture he managed to kill one law enforcement agent. He was convicted of the attempted assassinations of Saakashvili and Bush and the murder of the agent, and given a life sentence.
2007 crisis
Later in 2007, Georgia faced the worst crisis since the Rose Revolution. A series of anti-government demonstration were sparked, in October, by accusations of murders and corruption levelled by Irakli OkruashviliIrakli Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili is a Georgian politician who had served on various important posts in the Government of Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili, including being the Minister of Defense from December 2004 until being dismissed in November 2006.In September 2007, Okruashvili staged a...
, Saakashvili's erstwhile associate and former member of his government, against the president and his allies. The protests climaxed early in November 2007, and involved several opposition groups and the influential media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili
Badri Patarkatsishvili
Arkady "Badri" Patarkatsishvili was a wealthy Georgian businessman, who was also extensively involved in politics. He contested the 2008 Georgian presidential election and came third with 7.1% of the votes...
. Although the demonstrations rapidly went downhill, the government's decision to use police force against the remaining protesters evolved into clashes in the streets of Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
on 7 November. The declaration of state of emergency by the president (7 November-16) and the restriction imposed on some mass media sources led to harsh criticism of the Saakashvili government both in the country and abroad. Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
criticised the Georgian government for using "excessive" force against protesters in November and International Crisis Group
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an international, non-profit, non-governmental organization whose mission is to prevent and resolve deadly conflicts around the world through field-based analyses and high-level advocacy.-History:...
warned of growing authoritarianism.
On 8 November 2007, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold early presidential elections
Georgian presidential election, 2008
A presidential election was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, having been brought forward by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations from the original date in autumn 2008....
for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a plebiscite in parallel
Georgian legislative election date referendum, 2008
A binding referendum on whether to bring forward the 2008 legislative election from October 2008 to April/May 2008 was held in Georgia on 5 January 2008, together with an early presidential election and a referendum on joining NATO....
to snap presidential elections about when to hold parliamentary polls
Georgian legislative election, 2008
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on May 21, 2008. President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed a referendum on bringing them forward from October to April after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations...
– in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008. Several concessions in the election code were also made to the opposition.
On 23 November 2007, the ruling United National Movement party officially nominated Saakashvili as its candidate for the upcoming elections. Pursuant to the Constitution of Georgia
Constitution of Georgia (country)
The Constitution of Georgia is the supreme law of Georgia. It was approved by the Parliament of Georgia on August 24 1995. It entered into force on October 17...
, Saakashvili resigned on 25 November to launch his pre-election campaign for early presidential polls.
Changes in the Cabinet
Saakashvili publicly announced about his plans of modernising the Cabinet of GeorgiaCabinet of Georgia
The Cabinet of Georgia is an executive council of government ministers in Georgia. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Georgia. In the cases of utmost importance, the meetings may be led by the President of Georgia . The first Cabinet of Georgia was formed by Noe Zhordania in the Democratic...
well before Georgian presidential elections
Georgian presidential election, 2008
A presidential election was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, having been brought forward by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations from the original date in autumn 2008....
. Shortly after being re-elected, the president formally re-appointed the Prime Minister of Georgia
Prime Minister of Georgia
The Prime Minister of Georgia is the most senior minister within the Cabinet of Georgia, appointed by the President of Georgia. The official title of the Head of the Government of Georgia has varied throughout history, however, the duties and functions of the leader have changed only marginally....
Lado Gurgenidze and asked him to present a renewed cabinet to the Parliament of Georgia
Parliament of Georgia
Parliament of Georgia is the supreme legislature of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, from which 75 members are proportional representatives and 75 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies...
for final approval.
Gurgenidze changed most ministers, leaving Ivane Merabishvili, controversial Minister for Home Affairs, Defence Minister David Kezerashvili and Minister of Finance Nika Gilauri on their former positions. Gia Nodia was appointed as the Minister of Education and Science. Zaza Gamcemlidze, former director of Tbilisi Botanic Garden, took over the position of the Minister of Human Resources and Nature Protection. Famous archaeologist, and already the eldest minister in the cabinet, Iulon Gagoshidze was appointed on a newly designated position of the Minister of State for Diasporas.
Parliamentary elections held during Saakashvili's second term were condemned by the OSCE election monitoring mission for being marred by ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is the illegal act of one person submitting multiple ballots during a vote in which only one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time...
, violence against opposition campaigners, uncritical coverage of the president and his party from the state-controlled media, and public officials openly campaigning for the president's party.http://www.osce.org/documents/odihr/2008/09/32898_en.pdf
On 28 October 2008, Mikheil Saakashvili proposed Grigol Mgaloblishvili
Grigol Mgaloblishvili
Grigol Mgaloblishvili is a Georgian politician and diplomat who has been Georgia's Permanent Representative to NATO since June 26, 2009. He briefly served as the Prime Minister of Georgia from November 1, 2008 to February 6, 2009.-Early life and education:...
, Georgian Ambassador to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
for the premiership. According to the President, Gurgenidze had initially agreed to serve only for a year and that Georgia was facing new challenges which needed new approach. The Parliament of Georgia
Parliament of Georgia
Parliament of Georgia is the supreme legislature of Georgia. It is unicameral and has 150 members, known as deputies, from which 75 members are proportional representatives and 75 are elected through single-member district plurality system, representing their constituencies...
approved Mgaloblishvili as the premier on 1 November 2008.
Georgia–Russia relations
Saakashvili held an official meeting with the Prime Minister of of Russia Vladimir PutinVladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
, in his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo
Novo-Ogaryovo
Novo-Ogaryovo , also Novo-Ogarevo, is an estate in the Odintsovo District of Moscow Oblast to the west of the city, by the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Highway and is the location of a suburban official residence of the President of Russia, officially recognized as such in 2000.The residence was constructed...
. The presidents discussed the issues of aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
regulations between the two countries. This was Putin's last meeting as the President of Russia, having been succeeded by Dimitry Medvedev.
However, a series of clashes between Georgian and South Ossetian forces resulted in Saakashvili ordering an attack on Tskhinvali
Battle of Tskhinvali
The Battle of Tskhinvali was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, capital of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the 2008 South Ossetia War. Georgian ground troops entered the city on early 8 August 2008, after an extensive artillery barrage. Their advance was stopped by South Ossetian...
. In response, the Russian army invaded South Ossetia, later followed by the invasion of Georgia proper. The two counterparts were led to a ceasefire agreement and a six-point peace plan, due to the French President
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....
's mediation. On 26 August the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
, signed a decree recognizing Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
and South Ossetia
South Ossetia
South Ossetia or Tskhinvali Region is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic....
as independent states. On August 29, 2008, in response to Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Deputy Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze
Grigol Vashadze
Grigol Vashadze is a Georgian politician, diplomat and a member of the Cabinet of Georgia in the capacity of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia. From 2 November 2008 until 10 December of the same year Vashadze briefly served as the Minister for Culture, Heritage Preservation and Sport...
announced that Georgia had broken diplomatic relations with Russia
Georgia–Russia relations
Georgia–Russia relations are the relations between Georgia and Russia and between the Georgian and Russian people in particular, lasting from the 18th century....
.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
holds Saakashvili responsible for the 2008 South Ossetia war
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
, and states that Saakashvili is responsible for the collapse of the Georgian state. Medvedev has stated "(a)s soon as Georgia gets a new leader we will have every opportunity to restore ties."
2004 presidential election
The 2004 presidential election were carried out on 4 January 2004. The election was an outcome of the bloodless Rose RevolutionRose Revolution
The "Revolution of Roses" was a change of power in Georgia in November 2003, which took place after having widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections...
and a consequent resignation of President
President of Georgia
The President of Georgia is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Georgia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Shevardnadze is a former Soviet, and later, Georgian statesman from the height to the end of the Cold War. He served as President of Georgia from 1995 to 2003, and as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party , from 1972 to 1985. Shevardnadze was responsible for many top decisions on...
. It is well-known for a very high level of electoral turnout
Voter turnout
Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election . After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s...
and also for the number of votes cast for one particular presidential candidate — Mikheil Saakashvili (96%). All other candidates received less than 2% of the votes. In total, 1,763,000 eligible voters participated in the election.
2008 presidential election
On 5 January 2008, the presidential electionGeorgian presidential election, 2008
A presidential election was held in Georgia on January 5, 2008, having been brought forward by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations from the original date in autumn 2008....
was held nationwide with the exception of highland village Shatili
Shatili
Shatili is a historic highland village in Georgia, near the border with Chechnya. It is located on the northern slope of the Greater Caucasus mountains, in the historical Georgian province of Upper Khevsureti, which is now part of the modern-day region of Mtskheta-Mtianeti.-Geography:Located in...
, where the polling station
Polling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
was not opened due to the high levels of snowfall. In line with the predictions of various exit polls, the central election commission's result stated that Saakaashvili had won 53.4% of votes cast, compared to his opponent, 43-year-old wine producer Levan Gachechiladze
Levan Gachechiladze
Levan Gachechiladze is a Georgian politician and businessman who ran as the main oppositional candidate in the 5 January Georgian presidential election, 2008.-Life and family:...
, with 27%. According to Georgian Central Electoral Commission, as of 8 January 2008, which already included the votes from more polling stations than the earlier reports, Saakashvili was leading with 52.21%, Gachechiladze following him with only 25.26% of the votes.
2009 opposition demonstrations and armed mutiny
The pressure against Saakashvili intensified in 2009, when the opposition launched mass demonstrations2009 Georgian demonstrations
The 2009 Georgian demonstrations were a mass rally by an ad-hoc coalition of opposition parties in Georgia against the government of President Mikheil Saakashvili. Thousands of people demonstrated, mainly in Tbilisi, starting on 9 April 2009, demanding Saakashvili's resignation. On the first day of...
against Saakashvili's rule. On May 5, 2009, Georgian police said large-scale disorders were planned in Georgia of which the failed army mutiny was part. According to the police, Saakashvili's assassination had also been plotted. Opposition figures dispute the claim of an attempted mutiny and instead say that troops refused an illegal order to use force against opposition demonstrators
Journey to Polish president funeral
18 April 2010 Saakashvili, despite an ash cloud from the EyjafjallajökullEyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, situated to the north of Skógar and to the west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcano has erupted relatively frequently since the last glacial period, most recently in...
volcano, because of which airspace over most of Europe has been closed, made his way to Polish president L.Kaczynski's funeral
Death and state funeral of Lech Kaczyński and Maria Kaczyńska
Lech Kaczyński, the fourth President of the Republic of Poland, died on 10 April 2010, after a Polish Air Force Tu-154 crashed outside of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 aboard...
. It was a real bid of farewell, because dozens of foreign mourners cancelled plans to participate in the funeral, fearing for their safety. Mikheil Saakasvhili was flying from USA and first landed in Portugal, then Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania and finally found himself in Kraków airport, just on time to meet the funeral conduct walking to Wawel Cathedral.
Criticism
On 27 March 2006 the government announced that it had prevented a nation-wide prison riot plotted by criminal kingpins. The police operation ended with the deaths of 7 inmates and at least 17 injuries. While the Parliamentary opposition has cast doubts over the official version and demanded an independent investigation, the ruling party has been able to vote down such initiatives.In November 2007, Saakashvili came under criticism for dispersing with rubber bullets and tear gas hundreds of protesters who were blocking Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
's main transport artery, Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue
Rustaveli Avenue - is an avenue in central Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The Avenue starts at Freedom Square and extends for about 1.5 km in length, before it turns into an extension of Kostavas Kucha...
. The demonstrations started as protest against the arrest of two well-known sportsmen accused in blackmail but soon grew into a demonstration against the central authorities. 25 people were arrested including 5 members of opposition parties. In November 2007 another series of demonstrations
2007 Georgian demonstrations
The 2007 Georgian demonstrations were a series of anti-government protests in Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on November 2, 2007, when 50,000-100,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili...
forced Saakashvili to set the pre-scheduled presidential elections for 5 January 2008.
The deceased Georgian businessman Arkady Patarkatsishvili claimed that pressure had been exerted on his financial interests after Imedi Television
Imedi Media Holding
Imedi Media Holding is a private television and Radio Company in Georgia. The stations were formerly owned in part by the late Georgian media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.-History:...
broadcast several accusations against officials. On 25 October 2007, former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili
Irakli Okruashvili is a Georgian politician who had served on various important posts in the Government of Georgia under President Mikheil Saakashvili, including being the Minister of Defense from December 2004 until being dismissed in November 2006.In September 2007, Okruashvili staged a...
accused the president of planning Patarkatsishvili's murder. Okruashvili was detained two days later on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office. However, in a videotaped confession released by the General Prosecutor's Office on 8 October 2007, in which Okruashvili pleaded guilty to large-scale bribery through extortion and negligence while serving as minister, he retracted his accusations against the president and said that he did so to gain some political benefit and that Badri Patarkatsishvili told him to do so. Okruashvili's lawyer and other opposition leaders said his retraction had been made under duress.
Patarkatsishvili's opposition television station Imedi was shut down in November 2007 after the authorities have accused it of complicity with the plot to overthrow the elected government. The channel resumed broadcasts a few weeks following the incident, but did not cover news or talk shows until after the election. Subsequently the station was sold on to supporters of the Saakashvili government and some Georgian journalists have called for the station to be handed back.
In the 2010 study Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War, political scientists Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way cite various media and human rights reports to describe Saakashvili's Georgia as a "competitive authoritarian" (i.e., a formally democratic but essentially non-democratic) state.
Response to criticisms
In spite of these criticisms, Saakashvili's government has been lauded for making "striking improvements" in the fight against corruption. In addition, the U.S. State Department noted that during 2005 "the government amended several laws and increased the amount of investigations and prosecutions reducing the amount of abuse and ill-treatment in pre-trial detention facilities". The status of religious freedom also improved due to increased investigation and prosecution of those harassing followers of non-traditional faiths.The scrupulousness of Patarkatsishvili's political opposition toward the Georgian president has been questioned by the Jamestown Foundation's political analyst Vladimir Socor
Vladimir Socor
Vladimir Socor is a political analyst of East European affairs for the Jamestown Foundation and its Eurasia Daily Monitor, currently residing in Munich, Germany...
who attributed the businessman's discontentment to Saakashvili's anti-corruption reforms, which "had severely curtailed Patarkatsishvili's scope for doing business in his accustomed, post-Soviet 1990s-style ways." Patarkatsishvili - who had fled the Russian authorities after allegations of fraud - was called "a state criminal" by Saakashvili, who accused him of treason while refusing to admit to any of his accusations.
Personal life
Saakashvili married Dutch-born Sandra RoelofsSandra Roelofs
Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs is a Dutch linguist and the First Lady of Georgia since 2004, when her husband Mikheil Saakashvili assumed the presidency.-Biography:...
, whom he met in 1993. The couple has two sons, Eduard and Nikoloz.
Apart from his native Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
, he speaks fluent English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, and Ukrainian
Ukrainian language
Ukrainian is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic alphabet....
, and has some command of Ossetian
Ossetic language
Ossetian , also sometimes called Ossete, is an East Iranian language spoken in Ossetia, a region on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains....
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
.
Depictions
Saakashvili is played by Cuban-American Hollywood actor Andy GarcíaAndy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
in the 2010 Hollywood film 5 Days of War by Finnish-American film director Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin
Renny Harlin is a Finnish-American film director and producer. He is best known for Die Hard 2 , Cliffhanger , The Long Kiss Goodnight and Deep Blue Sea...
. The film will tell the story of Saakashvili and the events during the 2008 South Ossetia war
2008 South Ossetia war
The 2008 South Ossetia War or Russo-Georgian War was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and Russia and separatist governments of South Ossetia and Abkhazia on the other....
.
External links
- The official site of the President of Georgia
- BBC News Online profile of Mikhail Saakashvili (2004)
|-