Georgian PM says 11 senior officials of Interior Ministry to be awarded Order of Merit

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday announced 11 senior officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs would be honoured with the Order of Merit.

Among those set to receive this recognition are Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Shalva Bedoidze, the First Deputy Minister, and Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, the Deputy Minister.

The full list of recipients includes:

• Giorgi Butkhuzi, the Deputy Minister 
• Ioseb Chelidze, the Deputy Minister
• Teimuraz Kupatadze, the Director of the Central Criminal Police Department
• Vazha Siradze, the Director of the Patrol Police Department
• Sulkhan Tamazashvili, the Director of the Tbilisi Police Department
• Zviad Kharazishvili, the Director of the Special Tasks Department
• Mileri Lagazauri, the Deputy Director of the Special Tasks Department
• Mirza Kezevadze, the Deputy Director of the Special Tasks Department

Kobakhidze said during a press briefing earlier today the awards would be handed out after the inauguration of the President-elect Mikheil Kavelashvili on December 29.