Giorgi Margvelashvili

Giorgi Margvelashvili was born in Tbilisi in the family of Teimuraz Margvelashvili (born 1938), an engineer, and Mzeana Gomelauri (born 1933), a psychologist.

Giorgi Margvelashvili (გიორგი მარგველაშვილი; born 4 September 1969) is a Georgian academic and politician who was the fourth president of Georgia, in office from 17 November 2013 to 16 December 2018.

Early in the 1990s he worked as a mountain guide at the Caucasus Travel agency.

Margvelashvili graduated from the Tbilisi State University in 1992 with a degree in philosophy.

He continued his post-graduate education at the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary (1993–1994) and the Institute of Philosophy, Georgian Academy of Sciences (1993–1996).

He joined National Democratic Institute's Tbilisi office as a program consultant in 1995 and worked for it before becoming affiliated with the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, a joint Georgian–United States educational establishment, in 2000.

In 1998, he obtained a doctorate in philosophy from the Tbilisi State University.

Having studied philosophy in university, he was twice the rector of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs from 2000 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2012.

Margvelashvili twice served as a rector of the institute from 2000 to 2006 and, again, from 2010 to 2012.

His first direct involvement in politics briefly came in 2003, when he joined the opposition election bloc Burjanadze-Democrats prior to the November 2003 parliamentary election, being in the top ten of the bloc's list of candidates.

After the allegation of electoral fraud brought about street protests and a change of power in the Rose Revolution, the Burjanadze-Democrats merged with the Mikheil Saakashvili-led United National Movement, and Margvelashvili quit politics.

In between his two tenures as a rector, he headed the research department from 2006 to 2010.

During these years, he was a frequent commentator on politics and society of Georgia.

In 2008, Margvelashvili was again associated with Nino Burjanadze, the former parliamentary chairwoman, this time as a member of the board of advisers of Burjanadze's think-tank Foundation for Democracy and Development.

In October 2012, he became a member of the newly formed cabinet of Bidzina Ivanishvili as Minister of Education and Science of Georgia.

Margvelashvili was not a household name in Georgia until 2012.

By 2012, Margvelashvili had become a critic of Mikheil Saakashvili's government.

He publicly supported the Georgian Dream coalition set up by the billionaire tycoon Bidzina Ivanishvili, but he was not directly involved in the coalition's election campaign.

After the victory over Saakashvili's party in the October 2012 parliamentary election brought Ivanishvili to the premiership of Georgia, Margvelashvili, described by Ivanishvili as "a personal friend" and "an intellectual", became Minister of Education and Science on 25 October 2012.

In February 2013, he was additionally appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister.

Margvelashvili was named by the Ivanishvili-led Georgian Dream coalition as its presidential candidate in May 2013 and he won the October 2013 presidential election with 62% of votes.

With Margvelashvili's election, a new constitution came into effect, significantly curtailing the president's powers in favor of the Prime Minister and the Parliament.

Shortly thereafter, Margvelashvili's relations with Ivanishvili and the ruling Georgian Dream party leadership soured to the point of a full split.

During his tenure, Margvelashvili tried to be a voice of moderation and was critical of the Georgian Dream's consolidation of power.

He was the first president in Georgia's history not to seek reelection for a second term.

In February 2013, Ivanishvili appointed Margvelashvili as First Deputy Prime Minister, replacing on this position Irakli Alasania, the Defense Minister.

Margvelashvili's program as a minister envisaged several changes in the educational system, including a model of school graduation exams, the role of schools, and the financial independence of universities.

During his tenure, Margvelashvili came to public attention several times.

In March 2013, he was accused by the opposition and student groups of political meddling in academia after his ministry revoked authorization of the Tbilisi-based Agrarian University, run by a foundation founded by Kakha Bendukidze, an entrepreneur and ex-minister in the Saakashvili government.

Within two weeks, the authorization to the Agrarian University was renewed after the ministry said that the shortcomings had been addressed.

In April 2013, Margvelashvili's announcement that the government would provide the country's 650,000 school students with text books free of charge was denounced by publishers as a blow to the publishing business and by political opponents as a populist move in violation of intellectual property rights.

In May 2013, Margvelashvili was again in media headlines after he slammed proposed amendments to the labor code, calling them a "nightmare" for businesses.

On 11 May 2013, the Georgian Dream coalition named him as its candidate for the October 2013 presidential election.

The leader of the coalition, Ivanishvili, claimed the decision was unanimous.

The outgoing President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, expressed skepticism about the nomination, comparing it to Caligula's alleged naming of "his horse to the senate."

Both Margvelashvili and Ivanishvili rejected claims by opponents that Margvelashvili was "a puppet" in the hands of a wealthy prime minister.

Although not obligated by the law, Margvelashvili resigned from his government office, as he put it, to avoid allegations of misuse of administrative resources during the election campaign.

On 18 July 2013, he was succeeded by Tamar Sanikidze as a minister.

Margvelashvili campaigned aggressively, with Ivanishvili frequently appearing by his side and expressing support in his public appearances.

On 17 October, Margvelashvili announced, following Ivanishvili's "advice" earlier that day, that he would withdraw from the race in case of a runoff.