Meet the new head of Georgia’s Border Police

Georgia’s Minister of Internal Affairs has today introduced the new chief of the country’s Border Police.

Dato Nikoleishvili, former head of the Service Agency of the Interior Ministry, was appointed to the role.

Minister Giorgi Mgebrishvii personally congratulated Nikoleishvili on his appointment and spoke about several priority directions of the Border Police.

We’re creating a police force of the 21st Century. We have a rather ambitious plans with regards to border protection [and] we have a a vision of how to achieve our goals," said Minister Mgebrishvili.

"We plan to modernise all spheres of the Border Police, equip our borders with the latest technologies in the direction of land border protection, coast guard and aviation, in compliance with the western standards.”

Nikoleishvili was appointed to the role after former head of the Border Police, Deputy Interior Minister Zurab Gamezardashvili stepped down for "personal reasons” last month.

More about the new Border Police chief

Dato Nikoleishvili, 37, is Police Colonel who has served as head of the Interior Ministry’s Service Agency since November 2015.

From 2008-2015 Nikoleishvili held various positions at the Counter-Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including head of the unit of Tbilisi’s main division of the Constitutional Security Department.

He speaks Georgian, English and Russian.

More about the Border Police

The Border Police of Georgia is a special service and law enforcement agency under the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs, with the status of state subordinate agency.

The main tasks of the Border Police are protecting the state border of Georgia as well as protecting the country's territorial integrity, inviolability of the state border, the state and its citizens, and ensuring safety of state and private property along with other state agencies.

According to  Georgian legislation, the Border Police worked to ensure prevention and exposure of illegal acts at the state border, the border line, border area, Georgia's maritime area and on vessels under the jurisdiction of Georgia.