The post of Prime Minister of Georgia is the most unstable job in the country. The first prime minister was chosen in the short period of independence of Georgia after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Unfortunately, today, torn by various contradictions and problems, suffering from corruption and clannishness in power structures, the country is not the best example of democracy. The hot Georgian people are impatient, and therefore, the prime ministers of Georgia, as a rule, have not been in office for a long time. Yes, and leave him, if not with shame, then with condemnation. Someone straight from the presidency even landed in the dock. In the meantime, in the title photo of the article, the Prime Minister of Georgia now, if anyone does not know, his name is Mamuka Bakhtadze.
First
The first prime ministers of Georgia received their posts during the period of short independence. Burning in the Russian Civil War, there was no time for affairs on the outskirts of the former empire. Both prime ministers of Georgia were in the same party with Ulyanov (Lenin), suffered in tsarist Russia from persecution (were in exile) like all Social Democrats, but in their political orientation they were those whom the Bolsheviks called the Mensheviks. Both Ramishvili and Jordan are tragic figures, both tried to fight the arrival of Soviet power in Georgia, and both died in exile in Paris.
Ahead of the engine
As part of the USSR, Georgia had its own government, but the prime minister, as is generally understood, was not here. Therefore, he will not list the Soviet Georgian leaders, except for the latter, which became the first New Georgian. This is Tengiz Sigua. Moreover, his appointment to the post happened before Georgia was recognized as an independent state.
Scandalous position
Georgia is a turbulent country. What was not there in the post-Soviet period: the civil war, the war with the self-considered independent Abkhazia, rampant crime, corruption scandals, a clash with the Russian army in the South Ossetian conflict … And always in the center of it all is the figure of the prime minister.
Not a place for the opposition?
This is partly due to the fact that, unlike countries with developed democracies, where the representative of the opposition is usually invited to this post in order to appease and engage in constructive work for the good of the state, rather than engage in naked criticism, the prime minister becomes a direct follower of the president. This makes the rivals even more angry, and the “nominees” do not always meet the high requirements of the second person in the state.
All Prime Ministers of Georgia
In the table below you can get acquainted with all the premieres of Georgia.
| Name | Years of life | Time in office | The consignment | Career |
| Noah Ramishvili | 1881-1930 | 1918 | Social Democratic Party |
To: lawyer, Menshevik, Minister of Internal Affairs of Transcaucasia, Minister of Internal Affairs. After: Minister of Foreign Affairs, tried to raise an uprising against Soviet power in Georgia, a member of the government in exile. |
| Noah Jordan | 1869-1953 | 1918-21 | Social Democratic Party |
To: veterinarian, State Duma deputy. After: a member of the government in exile. |
| Tengiz Sigua | 1934 | 1990-91, 1992-93 | CPSU, then non-partisan | To: metallurgical engineer, scientist, director of the institute, |
| Murman Omanidze | 1938 | 1991 (acting) | Non-partisan |
To: human rights activist. After: Member of Parliament, forced to leave Georgia. |
| Besarion Gugushvili | 1945 | 1991-92 | Round Table - Free Georgia |
To: linguist, economist, scientist, deputy. Minister of Culture of the Georgian SSR, President of the State Film Corporation. After: participating in the unsuccessful attempt of Gomsakhurdia to return to power, he emigrated to Finland. |
| Eduard Shevardnadze | 1928-2014 | 1993 (acting) | CPSU, then non-partisan |
Before: Party functionary, historian, Minister of Public Order of the Georgian SSR, Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR, Major General of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Georgian SSR, Hero of Socialist Labor, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSU, deputy of the Supreme Council of the USSR. After: president. Survived an attempt on life. |
| Otari Patsatsiya | 1929 | 1993-95 | CPSU, then non-partisan | To: director of a pulp and paper mill, party functionary. |
| Niko Lekishvili | 1947 | 1995-98 | CPSU, Union of Georgian Citizens | To: party functionary, deputy of the Supreme Council, mayor of Tbilisi. |
| Vazha Lordkipanidze | 1949 | 1998-2000 | CPSU, Union of Georgian Citizens |
To: scientist-mathematician, party functionary, head of the presidential administration, ambassador to Russia. After: Professor, University of Tbilisi. |
| Georgy Arsenishvili | 1942-2010 | 2000-01 | Union of Georgian Citizens |
To: doctor of technical sciences, professor, head of departments of universities. After: Ambassador to Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Member of Parliament. |
| Avtandil Jorbenadze | 1951 | 2001-03 | CPSU, Union of Georgian Citizens | To: doctor, KGB officer, Minister of Health. |
| Zurab Zhvania | 1963-2005 | 2003-05 | Green Party, Georgian Citizens Union, United Democrats | To: biologist, chairman of parliament. Died in suspicious circumstances. |
| Mikheil Saakashvili | 1967 | 2005 | United national movement |
To: lawyer, MP, Minister of Justice, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Tbilisi. After: the president, left the country, put on the wanted list, adviser to the president of Ukraine, mayor of Odessa. |
| Zurab Nogaideli | 1964 | 2005-07 | United National Movement, Fair Georgia | To: scientist-physicist, MP, Minister of Finance. |
| Georgy Baramidze | 1968 | 2007 | Green Party, Unified National Movement |
To: scientist-chemist, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Defense. After: Member of Parliament, Minister of Euro-Atlantic Integration |
| Lado Gurgenidze | 1970 | 2007-08 | Non-partisan | Before and after: financier. |
| Grigol Mgabloblishvili | 1973 | 2008-09 | Non-partisan | To: diplomat, employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ambassador to Turkey, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After: country representative to NATO. |
| Nikoloz Gilauri | 1975 | 2009-12 | Non-partisan | To: financier, Minister of Energy. |
| Vano Merabishvili | 1968 | 2012 | United national movement |
To: scientist, member of parliament, assistant to the president, Minister of State Security, Minister of the Interior. After: arrested, convicted and acquitted. |
| Bidzina Ivanishvili | 1956 | 2012-13 | The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia |
Prior to: Doctor of Economics, entrepreneur, banker, financier, until 2004 a citizen of Russia, in 2010 received French and was deprived of Georgian (until 2012). After: businessman and investor. |
| Irakli Garibashvili | 1982 | 2013-15 | The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia | Prior to: top-level business manager. |
| Georgy Kvirikashvili | 1967 | 2015-18 | The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia | To: financier, banker, MP, Minister of Economy, Minister of Foreign Affairs. |
| Mamuka Bakhtadze | 1982 | From 06/20/2018 | The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia | Prior to: top-level business manager, director of the Georgian Railway, Minister of Finance, Doctor of Technical Sciences. |
What is stated in the Constitution?
The candidacy of the Prime Minister is put forward by the President of Georgia for approval by the country's parliament. The approved prime minister forms the government of the country (the Cabinet of Ministers), which he supervises, which is his main task. First of all, he is accountable to the president of the country, although he can be called to the "carpet" in parliament. May be removed from his post by the president, at the request of the parliament (in agreement with the president) and resign at his own request.
Georgian Prime Minister resigns
Such news spread in mid-June of this year. Having been in this post for almost three years, the baton (in Georgian “master”) Kvirikashvili really left the post. And again, according to the old Georgian tradition, with a scandal. According to experts, the cause was the ongoing protests of Tbilisi residents who support fellow countryman Zazu Saralidze.
In December last year, a fight between teenagers ended in stabbing in Tbilisi’s Horava street. Levan Dadunashvili and David Saralidze were killed. Two suspects were detained by the investigation, while the father of the deceased claims that two more teenagers, the children of high-ranking officials, were involved in the murder. In addition, the court withdrew the charges against the suspects. In addition, the investigation was accompanied by a number of very suspicious circumstances. It seems that a knife bent over cardboard (?!) During the investigative experiment of the knife with which Dadunashvili was killed. David's father vowed on his son’s grave that he would die if he did not achieve justice.
According to the Constitution, the Prime Minister’s resignation also means the “death” of the government: all ministers actually automatically lose their powers. True, they will still perform their functions until the new prime minister forms a new Cabinet.
However, Kvirikashvili himself described the reason for the resignation not as the consequences of the Saralidze case, but as a loss of team spirit in the government.
The duties of the head of government until the approval of his new composition and the introduction of the new Prime Minister of Georgia will be performed by the current Minister of Internal Affairs and First Deputy Prime Minister George Gakharia.
