Who is Giorgi Margvelashvili

Georgi Margvelashvili Giorgi Margvelashvili was sworn in as Georgia’s fourth president on November 17.
Agenda.ge, 17 Nov 2013 - 00:00, Tbilisi,Georgia

Giorgi Margvelashvili is the fourth president of Georgia, and also the first who is changed through the elections and not after a revolution or coup.

Giorgi Margvelashvili was born 1969 in Tbilisi.

Last year he served as the first deputy prime minister and the minister of education and science before he was named as presidential candidate by the Georgian PM, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Giorgi Margvelashvili was the first minister of education and science of Georgia, who carried out reform for free school books.

When he was a minister, he came into public attention several times. The most notorious was Agrarian Universitys case. Ministry of Education and Science canceled the authorization of the Agrarian University. This was followed by student protest. Two weeks later, the authorization to the Agrarian University was renewed after the ministry of education and science announced that the failings had been addressed.

Another story about Margvelashvili was in the spring of 2013, when the minister criticized amendments in the labor code and called it "Rosa Luxemburgs Dream. He appealed the Ministry of Justice to improve the labor code.

Giorgi Margvelashvili was the rector of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2012. During his tenure, GIPA became official partners with South Carolina University and Columbia University Media School. In 2006-2010, he was served as the head of the research department for GIPA.

In 2012, Giorgi Margvelashvili was a member of Bidzina Ivanishvilis TV9s editorial board to provide free editorial policy and high journalistic standards.

Margvelashvili began his political career in 2003. He joined the opposition election bloc Burjanadze-Democrats prior to the November parliamentary election. Five years later, Mr. Margvelashvili became advisors board member for the former parliamentary chairwoman, Nino Burjanadze. In addition, Margvelashvili was one of the authors of Burjanadzes election program. The latter was his rival in the presidential elections.

In early 90s, Giorgi Margvelashvili worked as a mountain guide at the Caucasus Travel agency and as the program consultant in National Democratic Institute's Tbilisi office.

He graduated from Tbilisi state University with a bachelor degree in philosophy. In 1993-1994 he continued his postgraduate education at Central European University in Budapest, Hungary. In 1998 he obtained a doctor's degree in philosophy from the Tbilisi State University.

Giorgi Margvelashvili has 18-year-old daughter, Anna Margvelashvili, from his first marriage. Nowadays he has a girlfriend, Maka Chichua. When Margvelashvili was named as presidential candidate, he answers journalists questions about official marriage and said that he don't go to make his personal life a part of presidential PR, so he has change nothing in his family.

Giorgi Margvelashvili was sworn in as Georgias fourth president for a five-year term on November 17 in an oath-taking ceremony in the courtyard of parliaments old building in Tbilisi.