Igor Muratovich Akhba ( Abkhaz: Игор Мурат-иҧа Ахба; ka, იგორ ახბა; russian: Игорь Муратович Ахба) (born 5 February 1949) is an Abkhaz diplomat and politician. From 2008 until 2021 he was the first ambassador of the

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 ...

to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and in 2004 he was for a short time the Minister for Foreign Affairs of his country.

Early life and career

Igor Akhba was born 5 February 1949 in

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 ...

, in what was then the

Abkhazian ASSR The Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (russian: Абхазская Автономная Советская Социалистическая Республика; ka, აფხაზეთის ავტონომიური ს� ...

. In 1972 he graduated from the faculty of law of the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. In 1975 Akhba obtained a degree in Public and International Law from the Post-graduate Institute of State and Law of the

USSR Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...

. From 1976 until 1989 Akhba worked as a research fellow with the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR. From 1989 until 1992 he was an assistant in the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union.

Diplomatic and political career

In 1992, Igor Akhba was named presidential

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of his or her sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the wor ...

to Russia, a post he has held for a long time. On 28 July 2004, Akhba was temporarily appointed

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia The office of Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia was created on 17 May 1993, during the 1992–1993 war with Georgia. Due to the diplomatic isolation of Abkhazia, which remains widely unrecognised, the role of the foreign m ...

by outgoing

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 ...

. On 14 December 2004, shortly after the height of the crisis following the 2004 presidential election, he was replaced by

Sergei Shamba Sergei Shamba ( ab, Сергеи Шамба, ka, სერგეი შამბა) is a senior politician from Abkhazia. He is currently a member of the People's Assembly of Abkhazia and Chairman of United Abkhazia. He was Prime Minister of A ...

and returned to his posting 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 millio ...

. On 26 August 2008 the Republic of Abkhazia was formally recognised as independent by the Russian Federation, on 9 September the two states established diplomatic relations and on 14 November Igor Akhba was appointed as the first Abkhazian ambassador to Russia. On 10 December 2008 he presented his credentials to

Grigory Karasin Grigory Borisovich Karasin (russian: Григорий Борисович Карасин; born 23 August 1949) is a Russian career diplomat who formerly served as a State Secretary and a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia. Career ...

, the State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and presented his

Letter of Credence A letter of credence (french: Lettre de créance) is a formal diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to anot ...

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Dmitry Medvedev on 16 January 2009.

Awards

Igor Mutarovich Akhba received awards from national and international, inter alia: Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (the medal "20 Years of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic") was received on 17 December 2010 in Moscow awarded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Vladimir Yastrebchak; Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (The Order of Honor Valor of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic) was received on 17 December 2010 in Moscow awarded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Vladimir Yastrebchak; Republic of Abkhazia (the medal "20 Years of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia") was received on 17 May 2013 in Sukhumi awarded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Abkhazia, Vyacheslav Chirikba; Russian Federation (the breastplate medal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) was received on 14 February 2014 in Moscow awarded by Deputy of Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, Grigory Karasin; and

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 ...

(The Order of Friendship of the State of Alania) was received on 7 March 2019 in Moscow awarded by Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Alania, Dmitry Medoev.

Family

Igor Akhba is married and has a child.

Sources

References