Grigol Vashadze ( ka, გრიგოლ ვაშაძე, also transliterated as Gregory Vashadze) (born July 19, 1958) is a

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and a former member of the

Cabinet of Georgia , border = , image = , image_size=200px , alt= , image2 = , image_size2 = , alt2 = , caption = Coat of arms , date_established = , date_dissolved = , state = , country = , polity = , leader_title = Prime Minister , appoi ...

in the capacity of the

Minister for Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

, Heritage Preservation and Sport (2008) and

Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

of Georgia (2008–2012).

Early career

Born in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

, Vashadze graduated from

Moscow State Institute of International Relations Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) (russian: Московский государственный институт международных отношений (МГИМО), also known as MGIMO University) is an institute of ...

in 1981 and worked for the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

, simultaneously doing his postgraduate training in

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

at the Soviet Diplomatic Academy. At one time, he was a member of Soviet diplomatic team at the

START I START I (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) was a bilateral treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union on the reduction and the limitation of strategic offensive arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 De ...

talks with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He worked in Department of International Organizations and Department of Cosmos and Nuclear Weapons of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union.

In Georgia

From 1990 to 2008, Vashadze engaged in private business and lived mostly in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He returned to Georgia in 2005. In February 2008, he was appointed Deputy to the Foreign Minister

David Bakradze Davit Bakradze ( ka, დავით ბაქრაძე) (born 1 July 1972) is a Georgian politician and diplomat who served as the Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia from 7 June 2008 to 21 October 2012. Bakradze's previous assignments inc ...

whom he succeeded as an acting minister in April 2008. He continued to work as Deputy Foreign Minister and became Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia in December 2008, succeeding

Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili Ekaterine "Eka" Tkeshelashvili ( ka, ეკატერინე "ეკა" ტყეშელაშვილი; born May 23, 1977) is a Georgian jurist and politician, formerly serving as Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secret ...

. In October 2012, he was succeeded by

Maia Panjikidze Maia Panjikidze ( ka, მაია ფანჯიკიძე) (born October 16, 1960) is a Georgian diplomat and politician. Formerly a teacher of German, she joined the Georgian diplomatic service in 1994 and was appointed as Minister of Foreig ...

. In July 2018 Vashadze was nominated as a presidential candidate for

2018 Georgian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 28 October 2018. The pre-election campaign was marred by a polarized political environment and a series of secret tape recordings aired by the pro-opposition Rustavi 2 TV, leading to allegations of ...

by United National Movement and 9 other opposition parties. In the first round of the election, his opponent

Salome Zurabishvili Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

won just one percentage point ahead of Vashadze. On 24 March 2019 after

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

stepped down as chairman of the United National Movement, he was nominated by the former chairman and won the following leadership election unopposed. He served as chairman until 15 December 2020, when he left the party.

Political positions

In his presidential campaign, Vashadze signalled his intention to use the presidency’s limited powers to send a vocal message of integration with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Personal life

Vashadze has been married, since 1988, to the famous ballet dancer

Nina Ananiashvili Nina Ananiashvili (born: ''Nino Ananiashvili'', ka, ნინო ანანიაშვილი; born March 19, 1963) is a Georgian ballerina and artistic director of the State Ballet of Georgia. She has been described by the '' Daily Teleg ...

and has two children, Nodar and Elene. Beyond his native Georgian, Vashadze speaks

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Issue of citizenship

Vashadze held

dual citizenship Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...

of Georgia and

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 ...

. During an interview with Russian newspaper

Kommersant ''Kommersant'' (russian: Коммерсантъ, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia ...

in December 2008, Vashadze stated that he was not going to refuse the Russian citizenship. His refusal was heavily criticized by Georgian opposition.

Semyon Bagdasarov Semyon Arkadyevich Bagdasarov (russian: link=no, Семён Арка́дьевич Багдаса́ров; born November 20, 1954, in Margilan, Uzbek SSR) is a Russian politician and member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation. He is a mem ...

, a

deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spai ...

of the Russian

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

, suggested to strip Vashadze of his Russian citizenship on account of his being "anti-Russian", but the parliament quickly dismissed the proposal as illegal. Following this incident, Vashadze renounced his Russian citizenship.Georgian FM Stripped of Russian Citizenship

Civil Georgia ''Civil Georgia'' ( ka, სივილ ჯორჯია) is a Tbilisi-based free daily news website run by Georgian NGO UN Association of Georgia. It is supported by USAID, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Swiss Agency for Development and Coope ...

. June 28, 2010. Accessed on February 10, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vashadze, Grigol 1958 births Diplomats from Tbilisi Politicians from Tbilisi Living people Diplomatic Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation alumni Moscow State Institute of International Relations alumni Soviet diplomats Culture ministers of Georgia Foreign Ministers of Georgia Sports ministers of Georgia