Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Mikhail Saakashvili
*** Shopping-Tip: Mikhail Saakashvili
Image:Mikhail_Saakshvili_briefing_the_press_at_the_UN.jpg right|thumb|200px|Mikhail Saakashvili briefing the press at UN headquarters
'''Mikhail Saakashvili''' (
Georgian language Georgian: მიხეილ ს��კ�შვილი) (born
December 21,
1967, in
Tbilisi) is a
Georgia (country) Georgian jurist and politician and the current
President of Georgia.
Saakashvili's given name is also used in the Georgian form '''Mikheil''' (he is commonly known as "Misha"). It is also transliterated '''Mixeil Saakašvili'''.
He is married to
Sandra Roelofs, of
Netherlands Dutch origin, and has two sons, Eduard and Nikoloz. He is reported to be fluent in seven languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Russian.
Early career
Saakashvili graduated from the School of International Law of the
Kyiv University Kiev State University (
Ukraine) in
1992. He briefly worked for the government of
Tengiz Kitovani and
Jaba Ioseliani following the overthrow of President
Zviad Gamsakhurdia before receiving a fellowship from the
United States State Department (via the Edmund S. Muskie/FREEDOM Support Act (FSA) Graduate Fellowship Program).
He received law degrees from
Columbia Law School Columbia in
1994 and the law school 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 working in the
New York City 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 recruit talented young Georgians 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 soon made a name for himself as chairman of the parliamentary committee charged with creating a new electoral system, an independent judiciary and a non-political police force. He achieved a high degree of public recognition, with opinion surveys finding 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.
Image:Saakashvili_n_bush.jpg thumb|300px|Mikhail Saakashvili with George W. Bush
On
October 12,
2000, Saakashvili became Minister for Justice for the government of President Shevardnadze. He initiated major reforms in the decrepit, corrupt and highly politicised Georgian criminal justice and prisons system. This earned praise from many international observers and human rights activists. But in mid-
2001 he became involved in a major controversy with the Economics Minister Vano Chkhartishvili, State Security Minister Vakhtang Kutateladze and Tbilisi police chief Soso Alavidze, accusing them of profiting from corrupt business deals.
Saakashvili resigned on
September 5,
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 centre 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."
Opposition
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 left-of-center political party akin to the Social Democrats in Europe with a touch of nationalism, 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
Georgia legislative election, 2003 parliamentary elections on
November 2,
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 (the so-called "
Rose Revolution") were held in Tbilisi between
November 20 and
November 23, with over 100,000 people participating and listening to speeches by Saakashvili and other opposition figures. After an increasingly tense two weeks of demonstrations, Shevardnadze bowed to the inevitable and
Eduard_Shevardnadze#Political_Downfall resigned as President on
November 23, 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.
On
February 24,
2004 the ''United National Movement'' and the ''United Democrats'' had amalgamated. 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.
President
Image:Amtseinführung Saakaschwili.jpg thumb|240px|Saakashvili's inauguration as President of Georgia
On
January 4,
2004 Mikhail 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, whilst South Ossetia favours union with its northern counterpart in
Russia.
Saakashvili was sworn in as President in Tbilisi on
January 25,
2004. Immediately after the ceremony he signed a decree establishing a new state flag. On
January 26, 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.
There have been some concerns about Saakashvili's
authoritarian tendencies. Some small protests have been broken up by heavy-handed police officers, and a new media bill, has sparked controversy. In October 2004, fourteen Georgian Civil Society leaders and Georgian experts wrote an open letter to the President, published in several national
newspapers, claiming "Intolerance towards people with different opinions is being planted in Georgian politics and in other spheres of social life".
As BHHRG has documented the new government immediately set out to settle scores with Shevardnadze era officials. Many former ministers, local administrators and businessmen associated with the former regime were arrested - often live on television - for abuse of office, with people being dragged away in their underclothes. President Saakashvili regularly appeared on television to denounce the suspects, condemning them before any charges were laid. At the same time, some of the more senior officials were allowed to buy their way out of prison by paying large amounts of the money into the state coffers. It was pointed out that this novel form of ‘plea-bargaining’ was lawful. However, as in most jurisdictions, the drafters of the Georgian legislation did not anticipate the handing over of money in exchange for freedom. Despite the obvious impropriety involved in all this, Western commentators lauded the new government for taking bold measures in the fight against corruption.
{{start box}}
{{Incumbent succession box | before=
Nino Burjanadze | title=
President of Georgia | start=2004|}}
{{end box}}
See also
*
List of national leaders
External links
-
Personal site of M. Saakashvili
-
The official site of the President of Georgia
-
''Journal: Modern Georgia's Young Founding Fathers'' by Stephen Kinzer, ''New York Times,'' June 4, 1998
-
''Caspian Business News'' article on Mrs. Saakashvili-Roelofs
-
BBC News Online profile of Mikhail Saakashvili
Category:1967 births Saakashvili, Mikhail
Category:Living people Saakashvili, Mikhail
Category:Georgian politicians Saakashvili, Mikhail
Category:Current national leaders Saakashvili, Mikhail
Category:Presidents of Georgia Saakashvili, Mikhail
Category:Democracy activists Saakashvili, Mikhail
{{Persondata
|NAME=Saakashvili, Mikhail
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=ს��კ�შვილი, მიხეილ (Georgian); Saakašvili, Mixeil
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=
President of Georgia
|DATE OF BIRTH=
December 21,
1967
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
Tbilisi
|DATE OF DEATH=
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
bg:Михаил Саакашвили
da:Mikheil Saakasjvili
de:Micheil Saakaschwili
et:Mihhail Saakašvili
es:MijeÃl Saakashvili
eo:MiÄ¥ail SaakaÅ?vili
fr:Mikheil Saakachvili
gl:Mikhail Saakashvili - მიხეილ ს��კ�შვილი
id:Mikhail Saakashvili
it:Mikhail Saakashvili
he:מיכ×?יל ס×?קשווילי
ka:ს��კ�შვილი, მიხეილ
nl:Michail Saakasjvili
ja:ミヘイル・サアカシュヴィリ
pl:Micheil Saakaszwili
pt:Mikhail Saakashvili
ru:Саакашвили, Михаил Ð?иколозович
sk:Michail Saakašvili
fi:Mihail Saakašvili
sv:Michail Saakasjvili
uk:Михаїл Саакашвілі
zh:米哈伊爾·薩å?¡ä»€ç¶åˆ©
*** Shopping-Tip: Mikhail Saakashvili
