Shalva Alexi-Meskhishvili ( ka, შალვა ალექსი-მესხიშვილი, also known as Shalva Meskhiev and Shalva Aleksi-Meskhishvili) (April 26, 1884 — June 18, 1960) 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 ...

jurist and politician who served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

of the

Democratic Republic of Georgia The Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG; ka, საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა ') was the first modern establishment of a republic of Georgia, which existed from May 1918 to ...

from 1918 to 1919.

Life and career

Alexi-Meskhishvili was born in

Telavi Telavi ( ka, თელავი ) is the main city and administrative center of Georgia's eastern province of Kakheti. Its population consists of some 19,629 inhabitants (as of the year 2014). The city is located on the foothills of the Tsiv-Gombo ...

into the family of the notable Georgian theater actor Lado Alexi-Meskhishvili. In 1902, he enrolled in the

Odessa University Odesa I. I. Mechnykov National University ( uk, Одеський національний університет Iмені І. І. Мечникова, translit=Odeskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni I. I. Mechnykova), located in Odesa, Ukraine, i ...

from where he was excluded for his involvement in student protests in 1904. In 1909, he graduated from

Kharkiv University The Kharkiv University or Karazin University ( uk, Каразінський університет), or officially V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University ( uk, Харківський національний університет імені ...

and returned to

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 ...

where he practiced law. He was one of the founders of the Georgian Social-Federalist Party and joined the Georgian National Council after the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

. After Georgia’s declaration of independence in May 1918, he served as Minister of Justice in the government of

Noe Ramishvili Noe Besarionis dze Ramishvili ( ka, ნოე რამიშვილი; his name is also transliterated as ''Noah'' or ''Noi''; 5 April 1881 – 7 December 1930) was a Georgian politician and the president of the first government of the Democ ...

until the 1919 elections in which he obtained a seat in the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

. After the Bolshevik takeover, he remained in

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

and practiced law in Tbilisi. In the 1920s, he was twice arrested by the Communist government, but survived the

Great Purge The Great Purge or the Great Terror (russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (russian: 37-й год, translit=Tridtsat sedmoi god, label=none) and the Yezhovshchina ('period of Nikolay Yezhov, Yezhov'), was General ...

of the 1930s. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years, he featured prominently as a lawyer for a group of

Muslim Georgians Islam in Georgia () was introduced in 654 when an army sent by the Third Caliph of Islam, Uthman, conquered Eastern Georgia and established Muslim rule in Tbilisi. Currently, Muslims constitute approximately 9.9%Religion and education in Europ ...

charged by the authorities with collaborating with

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

against the Soviet state.Shalva Aleksi-Meskhishvili
. Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Accessed October 10, 2007.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexi-Meskhishvili, Shalva 1884 births 1960 deaths Jurists from Georgia (country) Politicians from Georgia (country) People from Telavi National University of Kharkiv alumni