Mikhail Saakashvili

Mikhail Saakashvili (Georgian: მიხეილ სააკაშვილი) (born December 21, 1967) is a Georgian jurist and politician and the current President of Georgia.

President

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.

Related Topics:
January 4 - 2004 - NATO - European Union - Abkhazia - South Ossetia - Russia

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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.

Related Topics:
January 25 - 2004 - January 26 - Zviad Gamsakhurdia - Grozny - Chechen Republic

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There have been some concerns about Mr 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".

Related Topics:
Authoritarian - Newspapers

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