Anri Mikhail-ipa Jergenia ( ab, Анри Михаил-иҧа Џьергьениа; 8 August 1941 – 5 January 2020
) had been one of the leading politicians of the internationally unrecognised
Republic of Abkhazia
Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...
since it achieved de facto independence from
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
. From June 2001 to November 2002 he was the republic's Prime Minister and for a time Jergenia looked to be the favourite to succeed Abkhazia's first president
Vladislav Ardzinba
Vladislav Ardzinba ( ab, Владислав Арӡынба, ka, ვლადისლავ არძინბა; 14 May 1945 – 4 March 2010) was the first ''de facto'' President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia t ...
.
Early life and career
Jergenia was born on 8 August 1941 in
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
,
Russian SFSR
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...
,
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. He graduated from the Moscow State University with a diploma in Law in 1963. During Soviet times, he held several offices within the administration of the
: investigator at the Interior Ministry, chief investigator of the Prosecutor’s Office of
Sukhumi
Sukhumi (russian: Суху́м(и), ) or Sokhumi ( ka, სოხუმი, ), also known by its Abkhaz name Aqwa ( ab, Аҟәа, ''Aqwa''), is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the capital and largest city of ...
, Public Court Chairman of Sukhumi and member of the Supreme Court of the
Abkhazian ASSR.
After the break-up of the Soviet Union, from 1992 to 2001, Jergenia served as the Prosecutor General of the Republic of Abkhazia, as which, amongst other things, he had to defend Abkhazia's treatment of its prisoners of war. On 14 April 1999 Jergenia was re-appointed by the People's Assembly to a second term as Prosecutor General only after several rounds of voting.
From 1990 to 2002 Jergenia was the chief negotiator and designated representative at the Georgian-Abkhazian peace conference for President
Vladislav Ardzinba
Vladislav Ardzinba ( ab, Владислав Арӡынба, ka, ვლადისლავ არძინბა; 14 May 1945 – 4 March 2010) was the first ''de facto'' President of Abkhazia. A historian by education, Ardzinba led Abkhazia t ...
. In this capacity, he personally handled most of the negotiations with Russia, Georgia, the United States and the United Nations.
Prime minister
Jergenia was appointed to the post of Prime Minister June 7, 2001. Due to President Ardzinba's deteriorating health, Jergenia could lead Abkhazia politically, unlike previous Prime Ministers, who had mainly concerned themselves with economic policy. Perhaps even more so than other Abkhazian politicians, he was pro-Russian, and vociferously opposed to reunification with Georgia. Jergenia openly discussed working towards associate membership of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and encouraged Abkhazians to take up Russian passports, which a large percentage of the population eventually did. He also pledged a military alliance with
Eduard Kokoity
Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoyty ( os, Кокойты Джабейы фырт Эдуард, Kokojty Ĝabejy fyrt Edward; born 31 October 1964) is an Ossetian politician who served as President of the partially recognized state of South Ossetia. His t ...
, President of
South Ossetia
South Ossetia, ka, სამხრეთი ოსეთი, ( , ), officially the Republic of South Ossetia – the State of Alania, is a partially recognised landlocked state in the South Caucasus. It has an officially stated populat ...
to discourage Georgia from attacking either entity.
On 29 November 2002, Jergenia was fired by President Ardzinba, officially due to his failure to ensure fulfillment of budget targets and to prepare adequately for winter. However, for the first nine months of that year budget had been implemented fully and Jergenia's dismissal was widely seen as politically motivated. At the moment of his sacking, he had just returned from Moscow where he had signed a contract on supplying electricity to
Krasnodar krai
Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...
from Abkhazia, and he was widely seen at the time as the main candidate for succeeding Ardzinba as president. The President's wife,
Svetlana Ardzinba, was Jergenia's first cousin, and Jergenia was thought to have been building up support in Moscow. Some think that Ardzinba found that Jergenia was too openly ambitious about the presidency, that he put Russian interests above Abkhazian interest, or that he dropped support for Jergenia due to his unpopularity with the Abkhazian population.
Jergenia was replaced by former Prime Minister
Gennady Gagulia. This led to a shift in Abkhazian foreign policy, as Jergenia, while still steadfast on the question of independence, was much more open to negotiations than his successor.
Jergenia had been a close friend and collaborator of Ardzinba since the 1970s, but the two fell out when Ardzinba dismissed Jergenia as Prime Minister. They reconciled after Ardzinba retired as President in 2005.
2004 presidential elections
Already during the
2002 Parliamentary elections, while still Prime Minister, Jergenia had supported the parliamentary candidates of public movement
Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara ( ab, Амцахара) is the main opposition party in Abkhazia.
Foundation
On 31 March 1999, Amtsakhara was founded on the initiative of Sergei Dbar, Vladimir Nachach, Aki Ardzinba and Garik Samanba and a number of others as a pu ...
. In 2003, he spoke at
Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara ( ab, Амцахара) is the main opposition party in Abkhazia.
Foundation
On 31 March 1999, Amtsakhara was founded on the initiative of Sergei Dbar, Vladimir Nachach, Aki Ardzinba and Garik Samanba and a number of others as a pu ...
's congress, where he argued in favour of reducing Presidential powers and moving towards a mixed presidential/parliamentary model of government. Jergenia then became
Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara ( ab, Амцахара) is the main opposition party in Abkhazia.
Foundation
On 31 March 1999, Amtsakhara was founded on the initiative of Sergei Dbar, Vladimir Nachach, Aki Ardzinba and Garik Samanba and a number of others as a pu ...
's favoured candidate for the
October 2004 presidential elections before it entered into an alliance with
United Abkhazia
United Abkhazia ( ab, Аԥсны Акзаара, russian: Единая Абхазия) is a political party in Abkhazia. United Abkhazia was founded on March 25, 2004 as a socio-political movement, with the specific goal of presenting a single opp ...
and chose to back
Sergei Bagapsh
Sergei Uasyl-ipa Bagapsh, ka, სერგეი ბაგაფში, russian: Сергей Васильевич Багапш, translit=Sergey Vasilyevich Bagapsh (4 March 1949 – 29 May 2011) was an Abkhaz politician who served as th ...
instead. A minority faction of
Amtsakhara
Amtsakhara ( ab, Амцахара) is the main opposition party in Abkhazia.
Foundation
On 31 March 1999, Amtsakhara was founded on the initiative of Sergei Dbar, Vladimir Nachach, Aki Ardzinba and Garik Samanba and a number of others as a pu ...
continued its support for Jergenia, and he did enter into the elections, with
Ruslan Kishmaria Ruslan Kishmaria is a politician from Abkhazia. Between May 1994 and 1997, and again from 1998 to March 2004, he was head of the Gali District, Abkhazia, Gali District. Between 1997 and 1998, Kishmaria was a deputy of the People's Assembly of Abkhaz ...
as his Vice-Presidential candidate, head of the
Gali district assembly. The pair came in only fourth place in the first round, receiving 2277 votes, and did not contest the second.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jergenia, Anri
1941 births
2020 deaths
Lawyers from Saint Petersburg
Prime Ministers of Abkhazia
Amtsakhara politicians
Candidates in the 2004 Abkhazian presidential election