Ministry of Defense (Georgia)
Encyclopedia
The Ministry of Defense of Georgia is the Georgian
government ministry, in charge of Georgian Armed Forces and regulating activities in defense
of the country from external threats, preserving territorial integrity and waging wars on behalf of Georgia. The Minister of Defense is appointed and removed from the post by the Commander-in-chief
of the Georgian Armed Forces, President of Georgia
.
The ministry is currently headed by Bachana Akhalaia.
passed a law creating Council for National Security and Defense
. The council reported all its activities to the parliament but was directly subordinate to the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. Eduard Shevardnadze
was then appointed the Council Chairman. Georgian politicians Jaba Ioseliani
and Tengiz Kitovani
were appointed deputy chairmen by Shevardnadze while Tedo Japaridze
, the Georgian MFA expert on the United States became the chairman's aide. The council had the full right to issue binding resolutions on military and security matters of Georgia. In May 1993, Ioseliani and Kitovani were relieved of their duties in the council and disbanded of their government power bases, allowing Shevardnadze to assume greater power.
The Ministry of Defense was established in 1992.
When Soviet Union ceased to exist, Georgia was able to retain only a few military assets of the Soviet Army
stationed in Georgian SSR with modest amounts of military equipment, most of them obsolescent. Due to Georgian Civil War
, the Georgian military shrinked and was limited in resources.
Lack of financial resources forced the Georgian government to allocate less money to defense with defense budget being as little as GEL
55 million ($36.7 million) in 1999. There also was lack of coordination between seven independent armed forces which existed in Georgia in 1999, among them the Armed Forces, National Guard of Georgia
, Border Guards, Interior Troops, Independent Assault Brigade, Police Special Duties Unit and Special Service for the Protection of the State (SSPS).
By 2005 Georgian government consolidated the seven branches of the defense forces. The National Guard and the Independent Assault Brigade were incorporated into the Georgian Armed Forces under the Ministry of Defense, the Border Guards and Police Special Duties Unit were subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs
. The number of the active duty personnel in the Armed Forces was reduced to 15,000.
As a part of Georgian foreign and security policy, the government has been trying towards progressive integration into European and Euro-Atlantic political, economic, and security structures. State Ministry for Euro-Atlantic Integration
was also created as a part of the process.
According to the amendment to the law on "Approval of the Number of Georgian Military Forces" passed on July 15, 2007 the number of military servicemen in the Georgian Military was increased by 5,000 servicemen bringing the total number to 37,000 military servicemen.
The institutions subordinated to the ministry are:
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...
government ministry, in charge of Georgian Armed Forces and regulating activities in defense
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
of the country from external threats, preserving territorial integrity and waging wars on behalf of Georgia. The Minister of Defense is appointed and removed from the post by the Commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the Georgian Armed Forces, President of Georgia
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...
.
The ministry is currently headed by Bachana Akhalaia.
History
In the midst of dissolution of Soviet Union and political turmoil in Georgia in in late 1980's, Georgian military played an important role in the striggle for and retaining power. In November 1992, the Parliament of GeorgiaParliament 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...
passed a law creating Council for National Security and Defense
National Security Council of Georgia
The National Security Council of Georgia is an advisory body for the President of Georgia dealing with matters of national security. The current Secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia is Giga Bokeria.-Legal authority:...
. The council reported all its activities to the parliament but was directly subordinate to the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. 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...
was then appointed the Council Chairman. Georgian politicians Jaba Ioseliani
Jaba Ioseliani
Jaba Ioseliani was a Georgian politician, bank robber and leader of the paramilitary Mkhedrioni organisation....
and Tengiz Kitovani
Tengiz Kitovani
Tengiz Kitovani is a retired Georgian politician and military commander with high-profile involvement in the Georgian Civil War early in the 1990s when he commanded the National Guard of Georgia and served as a Defense Minister until being gradually sidelined by Eduard Shevardnadze who had...
were appointed deputy chairmen by Shevardnadze while Tedo Japaridze
Tedo Japaridze
Tedo Japaridze is a Georgian politician and diplomat.Japaridze was born in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia . He graduated from the Department of Western European Languages and Literature at Tbilisi State University in 1971 and worked there until 1974...
, the Georgian MFA expert on the United States became the chairman's aide. The council had the full right to issue binding resolutions on military and security matters of Georgia. In May 1993, Ioseliani and Kitovani were relieved of their duties in the council and disbanded of their government power bases, allowing Shevardnadze to assume greater power.
When Soviet Union ceased to exist, Georgia was able to retain only a few military assets of the Soviet Army
Soviet Army
The Soviet Army is the name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992. Previously, it had been known as the Red Army. Informally, Армия referred to all the MOD armed forces, except, in some cases, the Soviet Navy.This article covers the Soviet Ground...
stationed in Georgian SSR with modest amounts of military equipment, most of them obsolescent. Due to Georgian Civil War
Georgian Civil War
The Georgian Civil War consisted of inter-ethnic and intranational conflicts in the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia , as well as the violent military coup d'etat of December 21, 1991 - January 6, 1992 against the first democratically elected President of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia and his...
, the Georgian military shrinked and was limited in resources.
Lack of financial resources forced the Georgian government to allocate less money to defense with defense budget being as little as GEL
Georgian lari
The lari is the currency of Georgia. It is divided into 100 tetri. The name lari is an old Georgian word denoting a hoard, property, while tetri is an old Georgian monetary term used from the 13th century....
55 million ($36.7 million) in 1999. There also was lack of coordination between seven independent armed forces which existed in Georgia in 1999, among them the Armed Forces, National Guard of Georgia
National Guard of Georgia
The National Guard of Georgia is a military structure within the Georgian Armed Forces and has a department status within the Ministry of Defense. It is tasked with responding to external threats, civil disturbances, and natural disasters...
, Border Guards, Interior Troops, Independent Assault Brigade, Police Special Duties Unit and Special Service for the Protection of the State (SSPS).
By 2005 Georgian government consolidated the seven branches of the defense forces. The National Guard and the Independent Assault Brigade were incorporated into the Georgian Armed Forces under the Ministry of Defense, the Border Guards and Police Special Duties Unit were subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs
Ministry of Internal Affairs (Georgia)
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia is a state law enforcement agency of the Republic of Georgia.As of 2011 Vano Merabishvili is the minister...
. The number of the active duty personnel in the Armed Forces was reduced to 15,000.
As a part of Georgian foreign and security policy, the government has been trying towards progressive integration into European and Euro-Atlantic political, economic, and security structures. State Ministry for Euro-Atlantic Integration
State Ministry for Euro-Atlantic Integration (Georgia)
The State Ministry for Euro-Atlantic Integration of Georgia is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Georgia in charge of coordination and monitoring of activities undertaken towards integration of Georgia with the European Union and NATO.-History:...
was also created as a part of the process.
According to the amendment to the law on "Approval of the Number of Georgian Military Forces" passed on July 15, 2007 the number of military servicemen in the Georgian Military was increased by 5,000 servicemen bringing the total number to 37,000 military servicemen.
Ministers of War of the Democratic Republic of Georgia (1918–1921)
- Grigol GiorgadzeGrigol GiorgadzeGrigol Giorgadze was a Georgian historian, jurist and politician.Born in Kutaisi into the family of a priest, Giorgadze graduated from a local theological seminary in 1902 and from the Kharkiv University in 1909. Returning to Georgia, he practiced law in his native Kutaisi from 1909 to 1917...
, May 26, 1918 – February 13, 1919 - Noe RamishviliNoe RamishviliNoe Besarionis dze Ramishvili was a Georgian politician and the first Prime Minister of Georgia. He was one of the leaders of the Menshevik wing of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He was also known by his party noms de guerre: Pyotr, and Semyonov N...
, February 14, 1919 – December 1919 - Grigol LordkipanidzeGrigol LordkipanidzeGrigol Lordkipanidze was a Georgian politician and author.During the Russian Revolution of 1917, he was involved in the Georgian independence movement. From 1919 to 1921, he served as a Minister of Education and then as a Defense Minister in the government of Noe Zhordania, a Menshevik leader of...
, January 1920 – November 1920 - Parmen Chichinadze, November 1920 – February 25, 1921
People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs of the Georgian SSR (1921–1923)
- Shalva EliavaShalva EliavaShalva Eliava was a Georgian Old Bolshevik and Soviet official who contributed to Sovietization of Central Asia and Caucasus but fell victim to Stalin’s Great Purge....
, September 15, 1921 – November 14, 1923
Ministers of Defense of Georgia (1991—present)
- Joni Pirtskhalaishvili, September 15, 1991 – January 2, 1991
- Levan Sharashenidze, January 2, 1991 – May 8, 1992
- Tengiz KitovaniTengiz KitovaniTengiz Kitovani is a retired Georgian politician and military commander with high-profile involvement in the Georgian Civil War early in the 1990s when he commanded the National Guard of Georgia and served as a Defense Minister until being gradually sidelined by Eduard Shevardnadze who had...
, May 8, 1992 – May 5, 1993 - Giorgi KarkarashviliGiorgi KarkarashviliGiorgi Karkarashvili is a Georgian politician and retired Major General who served as Georgia's Minister of Defense from May 1993 to March 1994. A former Soviet army captain, he was a high-profile military commander during the civil war and wars against the secessionists in Abkhazia and South...
, May 6, 1993 – February 11, 1994 - Eduard ShevardnadzeEduard ShevardnadzeEduard 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...
(acting), February 11, 1994 – April 25, 1994 - Varden Nadibaidze, April 25, 1994 – April 27, 1998
- David TevzadzeDavid TevzadzeDavid Tevzadze is a retired Georgian lieutenant general who was the country’s Minister of Defense from April 1998 to February 2004.- Education and academic career :...
, April 28, 1998 – February 17, 2004 - Gela BezhuashviliGela BezhuashviliGela Bezhuashvili is a Georgian politician and the current head of the Georgian Intelligence Service since February 1, 2008...
, February 17, 2004 – June 10, 2004 - Giorgi BaramidzeGiorgi BaramidzeGiorgi Baramidze was born in 1968, in Tbilisi. He graduated from Technical University of Georgia, majoring in chemical technology. He has conducted scientific researches and is the author of several academic publications. Giorgi Baramidze was one of the founders and key members of the anti-Soviet...
, June 10, 2004 – December 17, 2004 - Irakli OkruashviliIrakli OkruashviliIrakli 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...
, December 17, 2004 – November 10, 2006 - David Kezerashvili, November 10, 2006 – December 9, 2008
- Vasil SikharulidzeVasil SikharulidzeVasil Sikharulidze is a Georgian diplomat and politician. He has been foreign affairs advisor to the President of Georgia since August 27, 2009...
, December 9, 2008 – August 27, 2009 - Bachana Akhalaia, August 27, 2009 – present
Structure
The ministry is headed by the Minister, aided by the First Deputy and two Deputy Ministers. It consists of four main departments:- State Military Scientific-Technical Center "Delta"
- Military Police Department
- General Inspection
- Military Intelligence Department.
The institutions subordinated to the ministry are:
- State Hydrographic Service
- Cadets Military Lyceum of Georgia
- Krtsanisi National Training Center
- Sachkhere Mountain Training School