Vakhtang Kapanadze ( ka, ვახტანგ კაპანაძე) (born 17 August 1960) 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 ...

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

who was Chief of General Staff of the

Georgian Armed Forces The Defence Forces of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, tr), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia, tasked with the defense of the nation's indep ...

from 22 November 2013 to 22 November 2016. He held the same command from August 2004 to February 2005. Prior he was in charge of the Georgian peacekeeping battalion deployed in

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 ...

before the war broke out.

Career

Kapanadze graduated from the Faculty of Geography and Geology,

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

, in 1983. He then studied at Georgia's Academy of Interior and has also been trained at the

George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies is a bi-national United States Department of Defense and Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany) security and defense studies institute. When the Marshall Center was founded in 1993, its mi ...

, National Academy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

. A veteran of the

civil wars A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

of the early 1990s, Kapanadze commanded a Georgian peacekeeping battalion in

in 2004 and served as the Chief of the General Staff from August 2004 to February 2005. In 2005, he briefly served as a military aide to the President of Georgia, and was then employed as a special envoy at the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , type= Ministry , seal= Seal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png , seal_width = , seal_caption = Logo of the Georgian MFA , image = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.png , image_size ...

in Poland from 2007 to 2008. He was deputy head of the foreign intelligence service of Georgia from 2008 until October 2012, when Brigadier General Kapanadze was appointed Deputy Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces. He again became Chief of General Staff, succeeding Colonel Irakli Dzneladze, on 22 November 2013. On this occasion, he was promoted to major general. His term expired on 22 November 2016 and was succeeded by Brigadier General

Vladimer Chachibaia Vladimer Chachibaia ( ka, ვლადიმერ ჩაჩიბაია) (born 4 November 1971) is a Georgian lieutenant general (2019) and former Chief of Georgian Defense Forces from 20 December 2018 to 1 July 2020, the first to be appoin ...

. He was appointed as Georgia's top military representative to NATO. Kapanadze is the recipient of the orders of Honor and Vakhtang Gorgasali, 3rd Rank.

References

, - 1960 births Generals from Georgia (country) Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia Living people Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) Military personnel from Georgia (country) {{Georgia-mil-bio-stub