Politics in Georgia involve a parliamentary representative democratic republic with a multi-party system. The President of Georgia is the ceremonial head of state and the Prime Minister of Georgia is the head of government. The Prime Minister and the Government wield executive power. Legislative power is vested in both the Government and the unicameral Parliament of Georgia.
Mikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast. He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party. Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020. In 2021 he began serving a six-year prison sentence in Georgia on charges of abuse of power and organization of an assault occasioning grievous bodily harm against an opposition lawmaker, Valery Gelashvili.
Nino Burjanadze is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 to June 2008. As the first woman, she has served as the acting head of state of Georgia twice; the first time from 23 November 2003 to 25 January 2004 in the wake of Eduard Shevardnadze's resignation during the Rose Revolution, and again from 25 November 2007 to 20 January 2008, when Mikheil Saakashvili stepped down to rerun in the early presidential elections. She withdrew into opposition to Saakashvili as the leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party in 2008. In October 2013, she ran in the presidential election, competing against 22 candidates. She ended third with 10 percent of the vote.
Presidential elections were held in Georgia on January 4, 2004. The election followed the resignation of former President Eduard Shevardnadze. As expected, the main opposition leader, Mikhail Saakashvili, was soon shown by exit polls to be heading for an overwhelming victory. According to preliminary results issued on January 6 by the Central Election Commission, Saakashvili won over 97% of the votes cast.
Union of Citizens of Georgia (UCG) was the ruling party of Georgia from 1993 to 2003. It was established by the president Eduard Shevardnadze, who had previously server as the Communist leader of the Georgian SSR from 1972 to 1985, and David Chantladze, former General Trade Representative of the Soviet Union to Czechoslovakia.
The Burjanadze-Democrats was an election bloc in the republic of Georgia founded in 2003. It played important role in the 2003 Rose Revolution. It was led by Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze. Other famous members of this bloc included Gigi Tsereteli, and Eldar Shengelaia.
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 28 March 2004. They followed the partial annulment of the November 2003 parliamentary elections, which were widely believed to have been rigged by the former President Eduard Shevardnadze. New elections for the 150 seats elected by proportional representation were ordered following the resignation of Shevardnadze and the election of new president Mikhail Saakashvili in January 2004. The results of the 75 seats elected in single-member constituencies in 2003 were not annulled.
The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the disputed parliamentary elections and culminated in the resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze, which marked the end of Soviet-era leadership in the country. The revolution derives its name from the climactic moment, when demonstrators led by Mikheil Saakashvili stormed the Parliament session with red roses in hand.
Ivane "Vano" Merabishvili is a Georgian politician and 9th Prime Minister of Georgia from 4 July to 25 October 2012. A former NGO activist, he became directly involved in Georgia's politics in 1999 and emerged as one of the government's most influential members after the 2003 Rose Revolution, especially as Georgia's Minister of Internal Affairs.
Zurab Nogaideli is a Georgian businessman and a politician who served as the Prime Minister of Georgia from February 2005 until he resigned, citing health problems, on 16 November 2007. In December 2008, Nogaideli withdrew into opposition, setting up the Movement for a Fair Georgia party.
The Democratic Union for Revival was a Political Party in Georgia. The party acquired its current name in 1998, having operated since 1992 under the chairmanship of Aslan Abashidze and the name "Adjaran Union for the Rebirth of Georgia".
Legislative elections were held in Russia on 2 December 2007. At stake were the 450 seats in the 5th State Duma, the lower house of the Federal Assembly. Eleven parties were included in the ballot, including Russia's largest party, United Russia, which was supported by President of Russia Vladimir Putin. Official results showed that United Russia won 64.3% of the votes, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation 11.6%, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 8.1%, and Fair Russia won 7.7%, and none of the other parties won enough votes to gain any seats.
Parliamentary elections were held in Georgia on 21 May 2008. President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed a referendum on bringing them forward from fall to spring after the 2007 Georgian demonstrations. The referendum was held at the same time as the early presidential election on 5 January 2008; the results indicated that voters were largely in favour of having the elections in spring.
Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 5 January 2008, moved forward from autumn 2008 by President Mikheil Saakashvili after the 2007 demonstrations.
The Republican Party of Georgia, commonly known as the Republicans, is a political party in Georgia active since 1978. Until March 2016, the party was a part of the Georgian Dream coalition that won the 2012 election, defeating the United National Movement. Currently it is in opposition to Georgian Dream as part of the UNM-led Strength Is in Unity coalition.
Gubaz Sanikidze is a Georgian politician, currently serving as a member of the Parliament of Georgia from the United National Movement (UNM) since 2020. A career historian, he was first elected to Georgia's legislature during the 1990 elections that saw the downfall of the Soviet regime, as a member of the conservative Traditionalist Party. Following the Georgian Civil War, his party formed an alliance with the authoritarian leader of Adjara Aslan Abashidze and he was elected to a second term as MP in 1999, during which he became an opponent to President Eduard Shevardnadze. After the rise to power of a new government with the Rose Revolution, he remained in the opposition and lost his seat in 2004, launching with other veteran politicians the National Forum. He briefly served a third term in Parliament in 2008, resigning his seat two weeks after being elected.
Bachuki Kardava was a Georgian politician, chairman of the National Democratic Party and a member of Parliament from 2020 until his death in 2024. One of Georgia's longest-standing opposition leaders, he was at times opposed to both the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili and the government of Georgian Dream.
Teimuraz Janashia is a Georgian security officer and politician, former head of the Special State Protection Service in 2010–2013 and a member of the Parliament of Georgia since 2020.
Armaz Akhvlediani is a Georgian academic and politician, who was member of the Parliament of Georgia from 1995 to 2004 and since 2020.
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