David Devdariani (Georgian:დავით დევდარიანი) (November 17, 1927 – June 13, 2006) was a Professor ofJurisprudence and Head of Law Faculty atGeorgian Technical University. He was the son of the famousGeorgian revolutionaryGaioz Devdariani who was executed during theGreat Purge in 1938 by orders ofJoseph Stalin. David was born inTbilisi,Georgia and attended theRussian gymnasium inUkraine. In 1950, just before applying for university studies in Tbilisi, he was arrested byMVD (formerNKVD) for being“the son of the enemy of the people” (Russian: "сын врага народа") and charged withArticle 58 of counter-revolutionary activities.[1] InKGB operated jail Devdariani suffered a great ordeal of which effects lasted throughout his life.[2]
While imprisoned Devdariani began adissident activities for the Independence of Georgia from theUSSR. In 1956 after the condemnation ofStalinism in the USSR, Devdariani was released by the orders ofNikita Khrushchev (General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union). Soon after his release Devdariani enrolled at Tbilisi State University and graduated with honours from the Faculty of Law. In the 1970s, he became the Head of the Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence at Georgian Polytechnic University and lived with his sisterMedea Devdariani. During thepro-independence movement in Tbilisi in 1989, Devdariani was involved in various demonstrations and activities for the support of Georgian independence. In 1992-1993, he began petitioning and working for a peaceful conflict settlement in Georgia’s breakaway region ofAbkhazia. Devdariani wrote numerous appeals and letters to theUnited Nations, heads ofG8 and introduced his reform proposal for theUnited Nations Security Council toKofi Annan. Devdariani has published numerous books and articles on Law, United Nations reforms andConflictology. In 2001, Devdariani was awarded the Order of Honor (the Honor Medal is awarded to Georgian citizens who actively participated in the revival of Georgia and devoted themselves to noble deeds) by the President of GeorgiaEdward Shevardnadze for his contributions to the study of Jurisprudence and raising the awareness about the tragedy in Abkhazia. In 2005, he published the book: "The Oath Book of the 21st Century," which contained propositions and recommendations for reforming the UN and the peaceful settlements of Post-Soviet conflicts. David Devdariani died in Tbilisi on June 13, 2006 from cancer.