Ivane "Vano" Zodelava ( ka, ივანე ��ანოზოდელავა; 2 May 1957 – 5 February 2019) was 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 who served as

Mayor of Tbilisi The Mayor of Tbilisi is an elected politician in Tbilisi. Before 2005 the mayors used to be appointed by the central government. In 2006 first mayoral elections were held in the history of the Republic of Georgia. The first elected mayor of Tbilisi ...

from 10 August 1998 to 19 April 2004.

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 ...

, the capital of then-

Soviet Georgia The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...

, Zodelava graduated from the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

(TSU) with a degree in engineering in 1978. After a brief academic career at the TSU, he became involved with the

Komsomol The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...

, a Communist political youth organization in the

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 ...

in 1981. He advanced through the Communist Party ranks and served as head of the Ordzhonikidze district in Tbilisi from 1990 to 1991. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Zodelava was involved in private entrepreneurship before becoming head of the Tbilisi Revenue Inspection service in 1996 and Deputy Premier of the Tbilisi Municipality in 1997. He then served as mayor of

Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near t ...

, a maritime city in western Georgia, from 1997 to 1998.

Mayor of Tbilisi

On 10 August 1998,

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 ful ...

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for ...

appointed Zodelava mayor of Tbilisi. He tenure was marked by continued social and economic challenges to the capital, such as frequent power outages, as well as damage to the city's infrastructure due to the 2002 Tbilisi earthquake. After the 2002 Georgian local elections, Zodelava's rule was challenged by the opposition-dominated

Tbilisi City Assembly The Tbilisi Sakrebulo ( ka, თბილისის საკრებულო, tr) is a representative body in the city government of Tbilisi, Georgia. It is also known in English as the Tbilisi City Council or Tbilisi Assembly. Sakrebulo ...

, then chaired by the young reformist politician

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

. The opposition accused Zodelava of corruption and campaigned for the mayor's dismissal, and/or impeachment. On 15 November 2002, the Assembly passed a vote of no confidence in the mayor. As a result, most members of the city government resigned. However, the Assembly lacked legal power to sack the mayor, who, at that time, was appointed directly by the president. Shevardnadze refused to replace Zodelava, who then stood by the president's side in the controversial November 2003

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. Following Shevardnadze's resignation on 23 November 2003 in the course of the bloodless

Rose Revolution The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...

, Zodelava remained in his position until 19 April 2004, when the newly elected President Mikheil Saakashvili dismissed Zodelava and appointed Zurab Chiaberashvili in his stead. After 2004, Zodeleva distanced himself from politics. He was severely injured in a car accident near Tbilisi in July 2017 and died in coma on 5 February 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zodelava, Vano 1957 births 2019 deaths Union of Citizens of Georgia politicians Mayors of Tbilisi Tbilisi State University alumni Road incident deaths in Georgia (country)