Irakli Kobakhidze | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ირაკლი კობახიძე | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.jpg) Kobakhidze in 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th Prime Minister of Georgia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 8 February 2024[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Salome Zourabichvili Mikheil Kavelashvili (Disputed) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Irakli Garibashvili | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman of Georgian Dream | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 7 May 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Irakli Garibashvili | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 11 January 2021 – 1 February 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Bidzina Ivanishvili | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Irakli Garibashvili | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-09-25)25 September 1978 (age 47) Tbilisi,Georgian SSR, Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Georgian Dream | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Natalia Motsonelidze | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Irakli Kobakhidze (Georgian:ირაკლი კობახიძე; born 25 September 1978) is a Georgian politician who holds the position of the 16thprime minister of Georgia since 2024 andchairman of Georgian Dream since 2025, having previously served in this role from 2021 to 2024.
A member ofGeorgian Dream, Kobakhidze previously served as a member of theGeorgian Parliament from 2016 to 2024, the sixthchairman of the Parliament of Georgia from 2016 to 2019, and the vice-president ofParliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe from 2020 to 2022. Prior to joining politics, he was a professor at theTbilisi State University[1] and also worked for Western-fundednon-governmental organizations.
Kobakhidze is one of the main propagators of the "Global War Party" conspiracy theory.His government accelerated the deterioration of relations with theWest and has been accused of internationally sabotagingGeorgia’s EU membership bid.[2][3] TheUnited States announced sanctions against Kobakhidze, members of his government, and the members of the Georgian Dream party for "underminingdemocracy in Georgia."[4] Under Kobakhidze's tenure, Georgia has undergonedemocratic backsliding, violence and torture ofprotesters opposing ruling party policies, and a shift towardsauthoritarianism. His rhetoric has been widely described asanti-Western, with him accusing the West of pushing Georgia into "opening a second front" and joining theRusso-Ukrainian War on numerous occasions.[5][6][7]
Kobakhidze is a largely nominalfigurehead of the Georgian government and is ultimately accountable toBidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire oligarch who is widely recognized as thede facto ruler of Georgia.[12][13]
Irakli Kobakhidze was born on 25 September 1978 inTbilisi.[14] His father, Giorgi (Gia) Kobakhidze, was a member of the Parliament in the third and fourth legislature, becoming its vice-president, for theNational Democratic Party, and was also member of theDemocratic Movement – United Georgia until 2015.[15] Irakli graduated from the Law Faculty ofTbilisi State University in 2000.[14] Later, from 2002 to 2006, he advanced his legal education at theHeinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany, where he was awarded a master's degree in law and a PhD in 2006.[14][15][16]
Between 2000 and 2001 he was the regional coordinator of the public education project of theUnited States Agency for International Development and, between 2006 and 2014, as a project expert and project manager at theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP).[15] Between 2005 and 2012 Kobakhidze was assistant professor at the Tbilisi State University and associate professor of theCaucasus University between 2011 and 2014.[17][14][15] He was also a member of the "Open Society-Georgia Foundation"' committee of experts of the human rights and rule of law program and member of the Georgian delegation to theCouncil of Europe between 2011 and 2012.[14] Since 2014 he has been an associate professor at Tbilisi State University.[14]
In 2015, Kobakhidze was appointed as Executive Secretary of Georgia's ruling partyGeorgian Dream, alongside Secretary GeneralKakha Kaladze.[14][16] As the deputy campaign manager for the2016 parliamentary election, and the campaign manager for the2017 local elections, he played an important role in the party's landslide victories.[15][18] In 2016, Kobakhidze was himself elected to the Georgian Parliament by party list.[15]
On 18 November 2016, Kobakhidze was appointed as the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia with 118 votes in favour and 3 against.[19][20] Under his tenure, Inter-Parliamentary Assemblies betweenGeorgia,Ukraine, andMoldova andGeorgia andPoland were established.[21][22] In addition, strategic cooperation agreements were signed with a number of the Parliaments of the partner countries such as thePoland,[23]Latvia,[24]Uzbekistan[25] andSerbia.[26] On his initiative, the plenary session room of the Parliament was given the name of the first democratically electedpresident of GeorgiaZviad Gamsakhurdia.[27]
Utilizing thesupermajority Georgian Dream now possessed, the parliament under Kobakidze's leadership made grand amendments to theconstitution. Changes include making the country aparliamentary republic, transferring the electoral system to a fullyproportional one by 2024, abolishing direct presidential elections, and extending the term of thepresident from 5 to 6 years.[28]
Kobakhidze made the decision to resign from the chairmanship in the aftermath of the2019 Georgian protests.[29] He was succeeded byArchil Talakvadze.[30] Kobakhidze continued to serve as a member of parliament.[17]
Kobakhidze was reelected in the2020 parliamentary election.[31] On 11 January 2021, he was chosen the new chairman of theGeorgian Dream.[32]
Kobakhidze's chairmanship coincided with the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and played an important role in how the party responded to the conflict. He expressed support for Ukraine and condemned Russia's actions, however, the relationship soon soured between the two countries. Between February and July 2022, Kobakhidze made 9 comments critical of Russia but a total of 26 hostile remarks about Ukraine and a further 57 about the West.[33] The main hostility stemmed from the fact that Secretary of the National Security Council of UkraineOleksiy Danilov stated that Georgia would "greatly help" Ukraine by "opening a second front" against Russia.[34] Kobakhidze criticized Ukrainian officials for pursuing their own interests at the expense of Georgia, saying that "opening a second front" would alleviate Ukraine's situation, but bring suffering and destruction to Georgia as Russia's army is considerably stronger and well equipped compared to Georgia's. Kobakhidze said that Georgia had the military means to "make the situation worse for Russia", but doing so would "come at the cost of destroying Georgia".[35][36] Kobakhidze later elaborated that there was a coordinated effort by the "Global War Party" to drag Georgia into the war.[37]
In June 2022, theEuropean Parliament passed several resolutions againstthe Georgian government and refused to grant Georgia candidate status. Kobakhidze criticized these actions and said that they were influenced by the "Global War Party".[38] He added that Georgia would not deviate from its path towards EU membership and that it would continue the process of EU integration, while calling the US and EU to "distance themselves from calls for Georgia to engage in war".[39] After much delay, in December 2023, Georgia was finally granted EU candidate status. Kobakhidze attributed the achievement to the Georgian Dream founderBidzina Ivanishvili, who, in his words, “laid the foundation” to replace “Soviet-style authoritarianism” with “European-style democratic and fair governance”.[40]
In early February 2024, Kobakhidze and Irakli Garibashvili switched posts, with Garibashvili becoming the chairman of Georgian Dream and Kobakhidze being confirmed as the prime minister on 8 February.[41][42] He outlined the government's priorities as ending theRussian occupation ofSouth Ossetia andAbkhazia, and the elimination of poverty.[43] Kobakhidze retained the same cabinet as his predecessor, but he appointed a new minister of defense.[44]
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Although Kobakhidze's first official trip as prime minister was held in Brussels on 20–21 February, his term has seen significantly deteriorating relations with the West.[45][46] Legislation passed by his government, particularly the (June 2024 passed) "foreign agents" bill which is intended to curb western influence in the country,[46] has been widely condemned for being incompatible with the country's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.[47][48][49] Some analysts claimed the "foreign agents" bill may not be necessarily aimed againstEuropean integration, but rather to bargain with EU.[50]
On 23 May 2024, Kobakhidze expanded the"Global War Party" conspiracy theory, and accused it of being responsible for theattempted assassination of Robert Fico.[51] He also accused theHungarianEU commissionerOlivér Várhelyi of threatening his life.[52] He later elaborated:
"However, even in the face of prolonged blackmail, the threat voiced during a telephone conversation with one of the European Commissioners was shocking. During our conversation, the European Commissioner listed a number of measures that Western politicians might take if the veto on the transparency law is overcome. While listing these measures, he mentioned, "You've seen what happened to Fico and you should be very careful."
Kobakhidze also stated his desire for an investigation into the alleged death threat.[53]
The 26 October2024 Georgian parliamentary election was won by Georgian Dream amid allegations of fraud.[54] The conduct of the election was met with European and western condemnation.[54]
On 28 November 2024, Kobakhidze suspended Georgia's accession process to the European Union until 2028, accusing politicians in Europe and theEuropean Parliament of engaging in "blackmail".[54] Georgia would also refuse any budgetary grant from the EU until the end of 2028.[55] According to Kobakhidze Georgia would continue to implement the reforms required for EU membership and that it still planned for Georgia to join the EU by 2030.[56] He claimed “by 2028, Georgia will be more prepared than any other candidate country to open accession talks with Brussels and become a member state in 2030.”[54]
Kobakhidze has made claims that the West is trying to push Georgia into theRusso-Ukrainian War and opening of its "second front" on the Georgian territory; his rhetoric has been described as "anti-European" and "anti-American".[5][57][7] Nevertheless, Kobakhidze rejected the charges of being "anti-American" and "anti-European", still naming theEuropean integration and thepartnership with the US as the "foreign policy priority" of his administration. He attributed the desire to push Georgia into the war with Russia to the specific groups in the USA and the EU rather than the USA and EU in general, saying that the "relations will be reset" with the victory ofDonald Trump in the2024 United States presidential election.[58][59] Kobakhidze supported "Donald Trump's goal of defeating thedeep state", saying that it would positively affect the Georgia's interests.[60] In his speeches, Kobakhidze has employed the trope of the "Global War Party", a term used by theGeorgian Dream officials to describe a group of entities and individuals such as Americanmilitary-industrial complex,George Soros andneoconservatives, which they allege are working to instigate the wars across the world. Kobakhidze used the "Global War Party" interchangeably with the "Deep State", accusing it of instigating the conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East and Syria.[61]
In February 2024, theState Security Service of Georgia claimed that it discovered Ukrainian explosives on Georgian territory. Kobakhidze used this as opportunity to repeat his allegation that Georgia is being dragged into war: "This once again confirms what, in principle, the high-ranking officials of the Ukrainian government openly said that they wanted and probably still want: a second front in our country".[62]
While talking on European integration, Kobakhidze emphasized that it would be acceptable only with Georgia's "independence, sovereignty, values" being respected and safeguarded during this process. Kobakhidze said that the "certain influential forces imagine the European Union as a unity of non-sovereign, weak states, devoided of identity and values, however, in reality, the European Union can only be strong if it unites sovereign states". Kobakhidze emphasized on defending Georgia's traditional values, morality, church and faith during the European integration, remarking that "Georgia has the complete right to request that the European Union respect its sovereignty and values before entering our home".[63]
Kobakhidze has characterized theEuromaidan as a negative event, saying that the Ukraine's economic collapse, loss of territory, and other negative events directly resulted from the Euromaidan. Moreover, Kobakhidze stated that the Euromaidan resulted in the rise of foreign influence in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian authorities being "appointed from outside".[64] Similarly, Kobakhidze condemned Georgia'sRose Revolution, saying that it resulted in thewidespread torture, decline of the media freedom, economic liberty, and the loss of territories. Kobakhidze called the Rose Revolution the "revolution of spies".[65]
Kobakhidze represented Georgia on theConservative Political Action Conference inHungary in April 2024. During his speech, Kobakhidze emphasized the importance of thetraditional values andnational identity, while warning of the threats posed by "LGBT propaganda" and "uncontrolled migration". Kobakhidze also spoke of the importance ofChristianity, with Georgia adopting it in the 4th century, saying that the Christianity has importantly shaped the Georgian national identity and using the slogan of the 19th centuryGeorgian nationalist writer,Ilia Chavchavadze — "Language, Homeland, Faith". Kobakhidze warned that if the mass migration continued in the European countries, the local population would soon become a minority. He also condemned thedrug legalization campaigns.[66]
However, the Kobakhidze's speech came amidst the growingright-wing turn of the Georgian Dream, deteriorating relations with the West, and strengthening of ties with Hungary.[66] Previously, Kobakhidze held different positions on various topics. In June 2017, responding to a proposal of the Georgian Dream deputy Nukri Kantaria to include a clause in the constitution on "protection of national values and consciousness", Kobakhidze dismissed the proposal, calling it a "dangerous idea" and "nationalist ideologization".[67]
Kobakhidze is married to Natalia Motsonelidze, with whom he has two children.[16]
Besides Georgian, Kobakhidze speaks English, German and Russian.[16]
Crucially, throughout the last 18 months, representatives of Georgian Dream and the government have increasingly begun to make hostile statements about their Western partners. News organisation OC Media reports that, between February and July 2022, Georgian Dream chair Irakli Kobakhidze made only nine comments critical of Russia but a total of 57 negative remarks about the West and 26 about Ukraine. Georgian Dream leaders have often presented their criticism of the US and the EU in the last year as warnings against foreign interference in Georgian domestic politics. Yet the fact that they have done so in ways seemingly designed to offend suggests that they want to push representatives of Western powers to leave Georgia.
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