Georgian PM appoints Aleksandre Tsuladze as new Minister of Education

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday introduced Aleksandre Tsuladze as the new Minister of Education, Science, and Youth Affairs during a briefing at the Government Administration.

Tsuladze, previously the Deputy Minister of Education, will replace Giorgi Amilakhvari, who resigned on September 28.

During the press conference, the Prime Minister said it was “important” for the new Minister to become involved in the development of a new plan for education as part of the Government’s election programme.

Kobakhidze said Amilakhvari's decision to resign was “unrelated” to the issue of authorisation of the Ilia State University - which was granted conditional authorisation following one-year monitoring  - and instead stemmed from his desire to return to the private sector.

I have a very close personal relationship with him, and he spoke to me about his desire. Regarding the date [of resignation], his decision was based on the following logic: as you know, we are working on an election programme that should be implemented within the next four years. Therefore, his reasoning, which we ultimately agreed with, was that it is desirable to involve the person who will be responsible for implementing this programme in the preparation stage. Hence, it was logical for the minister to resign during the pre-election period rather than after the elections”, he said.

On his part, Tsuladze highlighted the “significance of education in shaping the future of the country” and expressed his commitment to working “diligently and responsibly” to “ensure a better future for Georgia”.