Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili (Georgian: მიხáƒ"ილ სáƒ�áƒ�კáƒ�შვილი) (born December 21, 1967, in Tbilisi) is a Georgian jurist and politician and the current President of Georgia.

Saakashvili's given name is also used in the Russian form Mikhail (he is commonly known as "Misha"). It is also transliterated Mixeil Saakašvili.

He is married to Sandra Roelofs, of Dutch origin, and has two sons, Eduard and Nikoloz. He is reported to be fluent in seven languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Russian. On 5 July 2006, he had a 16-minute discussion in front of the press with President George W. Bush without a translator[1].

Early career

Saakashvili graduated from the School of International Law of the 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 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 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.

Mikheil 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 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. "Kmara" ("Enough!") youth organization (a Georgian counterpart of the Serbian "Otpor") and several NGOs, like Liberty Institute, were active in all protest activities. After an increasingly tense two weeks of demonstrations, Shevardnadze bowed to the inevitable and 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

Saakashvili's inauguration as President of Georgia

On January 4, 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, 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.

Controversies

There are concerns about Saakashvili's authoritarian tendencies. Protests manifestations are often broken up by heavy-handed police officers. For example June 30 2005 riot police and special military forces carrying machine guns violently dispersed hundreds of protesters blocking a major road in Tbilisi. It started as protest against the arrest of two well-known sportsmen accused in blackmail but soon the protest grew into a demonstration against the central authorities. 25 people were arrested including 5 members of opposition partiesGeorgia: Opposition Lawmakers Protest Violence Against Demonstrators. On March 27 the government announced that it had prevented a nation-wide prison riot plotted by criminal kingpins. Police operation ended in 7 inmates dead and at least 17 injured while independent sources reported as many as 20 deaths. Parlimental opposition has cast doubts over the official version and demanded an independent investigation. The ruling party, holding a majority of votes in parliament, decisively voted down the investigation initiative. On March 30, the largest opposition rally in more than two years gathering mor than 7,000 protesters, representing different social groups and political parties, rallied outside parliament. They protested the government's policies in various spheres, including police violence and social issuesPROTESTS, ACCUSATIONS, AND RIOTS SHAKE GEORGIA.

A new media bill has also 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". On March 29 2006 georgian buisnessman Badri Patarkatsishvili who claims to be the second-largest investor in Georgia after British Petroleum, charged Saakashvili's government with extorting businesses and putting pressure on the media. He pointed to the controversial fund kept at the Prosecutor-General's Office to develop law-enforcement agencies. Patarkatsishvili claims the fund, which amounts to about $89 million is financed by compulsory payments from businessmen, who reportedly bought freedom with their contributions. "Some of them did it with cars, some with cash, some with shares," Patarkatsishvili said [2].

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 possible appearance of impropriety, Western commentators lauded the new government for taking bold measures in the fight against corruption.

See also

*List of national leaders

References

External links

*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

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