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| President of Georgia საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი | |
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| Office of the President of Georgia | |
| Type | Head of state Commander-in-chief |
| Residence | Orbeliani Palace (since Nov 2018[2]) |
| Appointer | Georgian Electoral Assembly |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Georgia (1995) |
| Inaugural holder | Zviad Gamsakhurdia |
| Formation | 14 April 1991 (34 years ago) (1991-04-14) |
| Deputy | Chairperson of the Parliament |
| Salary | 13,000GEL (€4,500) per month[3] |
| Website | Official website |
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Legislature |
Judiciary |
 Georgia portal |
Thepresident of Georgia (Georgian:საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი,romanized:sakartvelos p'rezident'i) is the ceremonialhead of state ofGeorgia as well as thecommander-in-chief of theDefence Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence."[4]
The president is largely afigurehead as in many parliamentary democracies but does retain some significant authorities, such as the right to issuepardons. Executive power is vested in theGovernment and theprime minister. The office was first introduced by theSupreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on 14 April 1991, five days after Georgia's declaration of independence from theSoviet Union.[5] Currently, the presidential term is five years.
On 14 December 2024, theGeorgian Electoral AssemblyelectedMikheil Kavelashvili as the new president and inaugurated him on 29 December 2024. It was the first indirect election of the president in Georgia's history after theconstitutional amendments changed the electoral system in 2017. Opposition parties,Georgian constitutional experts, as well asparts of the international community consider Kavelashvili's presidencyillegitimate and maintain thatSalome Zourabichvili continues to be the president.[6]
Any citizen of Georgia having theelectoral right, who has attained the age of 35 and who has lived in Georgia for at least 15 years, may be elected President of Georgia.[7] The office cannot be held by a citizen of Georgia who is simultaneously the citizen of a foreign country.[8] nor a member of a political party.[9]
According to the 2018 version of Georgia's constitution, starting in 2024, the president is elected for a five-year term by the 300-member Electoral College, consisting of all members of the Parliament of Georgia and of the supreme representative bodies of the autonomous republics ofAbkhazia andAdjara, also members from the representative bodies of local self-governments (municipalities). The same person may be elected President of Georgia only twice. No less than 30 members of the Electoral College shall have the right to nominate a candidate for the president of Georgia. The election of the president of Georgia is appointed by the Parliament for October.[10]
One third of the total number of the members of Parliament has the right to raise the question of impeachment of the president of Georgia. They can be considered impeached if the decision is supported by at least two thirds of the members of Parliament. The procedure of the impeachment of the president is constitutionally banned during a state of emergency or martial law.[11]
1. The President of Georgia shall:
a) with the consent of the Government, exercise representative powers in foreign relations, negotiate with other states and international organisations, conclude international treaties, and accept the accreditation of ambassadors and other diplomatic representatives of other states and international organisations; upon nomination by the Government, appoint and dismiss ambassadors and other heads of diplomatic missions of Georgia;
b) conclude a constitutional agreement with the Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia on behalf of the state of Georgia;
c) call the elections of Parliament and local self-government bodies in accordance with the Constitution and the procedures established by the organic law;
d) upon nomination by the Government, appoint and dismiss the Commander of the Defence Forces of Georgia; appoint one member of the High Council of Justice; participate in the appointment of the chairperson and members of the Central Election Commission of Georgia in cases defined by the organic law and in accordance with the established procedure; upon nomination by the Government, submit to Parliament candidates for the membership of the national regulatory bodies;
e) decide on citizenship issues in accordance with the procedures established by the organic law;
f) pardon convicts;
g) in accordance with the procedures established by law, grant state awards and rewards; highest military ranks, special ranks and honorary titles; and highest diplomatic ranks;
h) be entitled, upon recommendation by the Government and with the consent of Parliament, to suspend the activity of a representative body of a territorial unit, or to dissolve such a body, if its activities threaten the sovereignty or territorial integrity of the country, or the exercise of constitutional powers by state bodies;
i) exercise other powers determined by the Constitution.[12]
2. The President of Georgia shall have the right to call a referendum on issues defined in the Constitution and law, at the request of the Parliament of Georgia, the Government of Georgia or no less than 200 000 voters, within 30 days after such a request is received. A referendum shall not be held in order to adopt or repeal a law, to grant amnesty or pardon, to ratify or denounce international treaties, or to decide issues that envisage the restriction of fundamental constitutional human rights. Issues related to calling and holding referendums shall be defined by the organic law.[12]
3. The President of Georgia shall have the right to address the people. The President shall annually submit a report on crucial state-related issues to Parliament.[12]
Prior to assuming office, on the third Sunday after the election day, the newly elected president of Georgia addresses the people and is required to take the following oath[citation needed] of office:
The president of Georgia enjoys immunity. No one shall have the right to detain or bring criminal proceedings against the president of Georgia while in office.[12] Security of the president of Georgia is provided by theSpecial State Protection Service.[13]
The standard is adapted from thenational flag of Georgia, charged in the center with theGeorgian coat of arms. Copies of the standard are used inside the president's office, at the Chancellery Building, other state agencies, and as acar flag on vehicles bearing the president within Georgian territory.[citation needed]
After Georgia formally seceded from the Soviet Union on 9 April 1991, theSupreme Council voted, on 14 April, to create the post of executive president, and appointedZviad Gamsakhurdia to the office pending the holding of direct elections.[14][15] In the nationwide elections to this post, on 26 May 1991, Gamsakhurdia won a landslide victory, becoming the first president of the Republic of Georgia. Gamsakhurdia was ousted in amilitary coup d'état on 6 January 1992. He continued to function as a president-in-exile until his death in a failed attempt to regain power on 31 December 1993.[citation needed]
In the post-coup absence of legitimate power, a position of the head of state was introduced for Georgia's new leaderEduard Shevardnadze on 10 March 1992. After the adoption of a new Constitution on 24 August 1995, the post of president was restored. Shevardnadze was elected to presidency on 5 November 1995, and reelected on 9 April 2000. He resigned under pressure of mass demonstrations known asRose Revolution on 23 November 2003. AfterNino Burjanadze's brief tenure as anacting president,Mikheil Saakashvili was elected on 4 January 2004. He did not serve his full first term, but voluntarily resigned to defuse tensions in the aftermath of the2007 Georgian demonstrations and brought the presidential elections forward from the original date in autumn 2008. He was reelected on 5 January 2008. The president's executive powers were significantly curtailed in favor of theprime minister and thegovernment in a series of amendments passed between 2013 and 2018. After the election ofGiorgi Margvelashvili to presidency in October 2013, Georgia finalized its transition to aparliamentary republic. In November 2018,Salome Zourabichvili, became Georgia's first female president in permanent capacity and, according to the new constitution, the last president to be elected by a direct vote.[16]
[[File:
.jpg)
|thumb|Salome Zourabichvili (left) andMikheil Kavelashvili (right)]]
Georgia is currently undergoing apolitical crisis due to the disputed legitimacy of theOctober 2024 Georgian parliamentary election, which was conducted with significantirregularities and described by observers as "fundamentally flawed".[17] The crisis continued with the unconstitutional self-convening ofParliament[18][19] and escalated with the decision of the ruling party to suspend preparations forEU accession negotiations,[20] which was seen as contradicting Article 78 of theGeorgian Constitution.[20] The crisis entered another phase with theelection of a new president by theGeorgian Electoral Assembly[21] and its 29 December 2024 inauguration ofMikheil Kavelashvili.[22]Salome Zourabichvili stated on 29 December and during the following weeks that she remained the president of Georgia.[22][23][24]
Protests against the ruling party have continued since the election, with hundreds of protesters arrested, beaten or tortured[25] by the police and the ruling-party affiliatedviolent groups, who also attacked journalists.[26][27][28][29]
On 13 February 2025, theEuropean Parliament passed a resolution stating that theEuropean Union does not recognize Mikheil Kavelashvili as the legitimate president of Georgia.[30]
In the event of the president's resignation, death or impeachment, thechairperson of Parliament will temporarily serve as president until a new president is elected.[12] There were cases of this in Georgia in 2003 and 2007, in both cases, the president resigned prematurely and was replaced by the chairperson of parliament, before new elections were held. In both cases, the then-chairpersonNino Burjanadze became acting president, so it can be said that she became the first female president of the country. However, the first female president of Georgia who was actually elected in her own right isSalome Zourabichvili.
| Georgian:საქართველოს პრეზიდენტის ადმინისტრაცია | |
 Logo of the Administration featuringOrbeliani Palace | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 14 February 2004; 21 years ago (2004-02-14) |
| Headquarters | Orbeliani Palace,Tbilisi |
| Agency executive |
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| Website | president |
Administration of the President of Georgia (Georgian:საქართველოს პრეზიდენტის ადმინისტრაცია,romanized:sakartvelos p'rezident'is administ'ratsia, sometimes translated asPresidential Administration of Georgia) is the body supporting and organizing the exercise of the powers defined by theConstitution of Georgia and other legislative acts for the President of Georgia. The Administration of the President of Georgia was established on 14 February 2004 by the Decree No.60 of the President of Georgia,Mikheil Saakashvili.[31] In its activities, the administration is guided by the Constitution of Georgia, the legislation of Georgia, the statute and other legal acts of the President of Georgia. The structure and rules of operation of the administration are determined by the President of Georgia.
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939–1993) | .jpg) | 14 April 1991 | 6 January 1992 (Deposed) | 267 days | Round Table—Free Georgia | 1991 |
| The office of the president was vacant from 6 January 1992 to 26 November 1995.[b] | |||||||
| 2 | Eduard Shevardnadze (1928–2014) | .jpg) | 26 November 1995 | 23 November 2003 (Forced to resign) | 7 years, 362 days | Union of Citizens of Georgia | 1995 2000 |
| — | Nino Burjanadze (b. 1964) Acting | _(3x4_cropped).jpg) | 23 November 2003 | 25 January 2004 | 63 days | United National Movement | – |
| 3 | Mikheil Saakashvili (b. 1967) | .jpg) | 25 January 2004 | 25 November 2007 (Resigned) | 3 years, 304 days | United National Movement | 2004 |
| — | Nino Burjanadze (b. 1964) Acting |  | 25 November 2007 | 20 January 2008 | 56 days | United National Movement | – |
| (3) | Mikheil Saakashvili (b. 1967) | .jpg) | 20 January 2008 | 17 November 2013 | 5 years, 301 days | United National Movement | 2008 |
| 4 | Giorgi Margvelashvili (b. 1969) | .jpg) | 17 November 2013 | 16 December 2018 | 5 years, 29 days | Georgian Dream | 2013 |
| 5 | Salome Zourabichvili (b. 1952) | _2.jpg) | 16 December 2018 | 29 December 2024 | 6 years, 13 days | Independent[c] | 2018 |
| Incumbent (Disputed) | 6 years, 344 days (Disputed) | ||||||
| 6 | Mikheil Kavelashvili | .jpg) | 29 December 2024 | Incumbent (Disputed) | 331 days (Disputed) | People's Power[d] | 2024 |
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Legislature | Election |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939–1993) | | 14 November 1990 | 14 April 1991 | 151 days | Round Table—Free Georgia | Supreme Council | 1990 |
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Jaba Ioseliani (1926–2003) |  | 6 January 1992 | 10 March 1992 | 64 days | Mkhedrioni | Co-chairmen of theMilitary Council |
| Tengiz Kitovani (1938–2023) | .jpg) | National Guard | |||||
| — | Eduard Shevardnadze (1928–2014) | | 10 March 1992 | 4 November 1992 | 239 days | Independent | Chairman of the State Council |
| 4 November 1992 | 6 November 1992 | 2 days | Chairman of theParliament | ||||
| 6 November 1992 | 26 November 1995 | 3 years, 20 days | Head of State |
| No. | Name (Birth–Death) | Portrait | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Zviad Gamsakhurdia (1939–1993)[e] | | 24 September 1993 | 6 November 1993 | 43 days | Round Table—Free Georgia |
Georgia's parliamentary elections were fundamentally flawed ... '... only new elections can restore the Georgian people's confidence in their government's legitimacy', said [IRI President Dr. Daniel] Twining.
The location, character, and degree of the injuries create a credible impression that the police use violent methods against citizens in order to punish them. Intentional, severe violence for the purpose of punishment constitutes an act of torture.
Leaders of Georgia since 1918 | |
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Democratic Republic of Georgia Prime Minister | .svg) |
| Georgian SSR Chairmen of the Revolutionary Committee | |
| Georgian SSR First Secretaries of Georgian Communist Party | |
Modern Georgia  Presidents | .svg)  |
| Elections | |
* Acting head of state | |
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