Georgia

Georgia, 1991 to today. Draft, not yet reviewed

In the 1980s an independence movement grew quickly, leading to Georgia's secession from the Soviet Union in April 1991. For much of the subsequent decade, the country endured economic crises, political instability, and secessionist wars in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Following the peaceful Rose Revolution in 2003, Georgia strongly pursued a pro-Western foreign policy, introducing a series of reforms aimed at integration into the European Union and NATO. Relations with Russia worsened, culminating in the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, and the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, negotiated a ceasefire agreement on 12 August 2008.

Seat of power: Tbilisi

Rulers

Zviad Gamsakhurdia

President of Georgia, 1991–1992

Gamsakhurdia was elected as the President of Georgia in 1991, gaining 87% of votes in the election. In early 1992 he was overthrown by warlords Tengiz Kitovani, Jaba Ioseliani and Tengiz Sigua, and he was forced to flee to Chechnya.

Portrait of Zviad Gamsakhurdia: George barateli by George Barateli in 1989, Public domain, file

Eduard Shevardnadze

President of Georgia, 1992–2003

Eduard Shevardnadze was named as the head of Georgia's new government in March 1992 and was elected as head of state in that year's elections. In 2003 Shevardnadze was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November 2003 parliamentary elections were marred by fraud.

Portrait of Eduard Shevardnadze: Robert D. Ward, Public domain, file

Nino Burjanadze

President of Georgia, 2003–2004

As the first woman to do so, she served as acting head of state of Georgia from 23 November 2003 to 25 January 2004, after Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation during the Rose Revolution. She served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008.

Mikheil Saakashvili

President of Georgia, 2004–2013

He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from January 2004 to November 2013, with a break from November 2007 to January 2008. Saakashvili's key role in the protests led to his election as president in 2004. Saakashvili was reelected in 2008, but his party lost the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election.

Portrait of Mikheil Saakashvili: Виталий Носач / РБК-Украина, CC BY 4.0, file

Nino Burjanadze

President of Georgia, 2007–2008

She was acting head of state again from 25 November 2007 to 20 January 2008, after Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down to run in the early presidential election.

Giorgi Marghvilashvili

President of Georgia, 2013–2018

He was the fourth president of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018. With his election, a new constitution came into effect, significantly curtailing the president's powers in favor of the Prime Minister and the Parliament. He was the first president in Georgia's history not to seek reelection for a second term.

Portrait of Giorgi Marghvilashvili: Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äusseres, CC BY 2.0, file

Salome Zourabichvili

President of Georgia, 2018–2024

She served as the fifth president of Georgia, becoming the first woman to be elected as president in the country's history. In 2018 she ran for president as an independent candidate and prevailed in a run-off vote against the UNM nominee Grigol Vashadze. As a result of the constitutional amendments that came into effect in 2024, Zourabichvili became the last popularly elected president.

Portrait of Salome Zourabichvili: The Administration of the President of Georgia, CC BY 4.0, file

Mikheil Kavelashvili

President of Georgia, 2024 to today

He was sworn in as the sixth president of Georgia on 29 December 2024. His election was the first to be conducted through an electoral college following constitutional changes in 2017. His election is being disputed by the Georgian opposition.

Portrait of Mikheil Kavelashvili: Giorgi Abdaladze, CC BY 4.0, file

Culture

Georgia is known for hosting the world's earliest known sites of winemaking.
Georgians primarily speak Georgian, a Kartvelian language that has no relation to any other language family in the world.
The two self-declared republics gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Russia recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as separate republics on 26 August, while most countries consider the regions to be Georgian territory.

Picture

The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi, known as Sameba, is the main cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church and was constructed between 1995 and 2004.

Image: Marcin Konsek, CC-BY-SA-4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.