Vasil Sikharulidze ( ka, ვასილ სიხარულიძე) (born May 30, 1968) 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 ...

diplomat and politician. He worked as a foreign affairs advisor to the

President of Georgia 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 ...

Mikhail Saakashvili from August 27, 2009. He had previously served as Ambassador to 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 ...

(2006-2008) and Georgia's Minister of Defence (2008-2009). 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 ...

, then-

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

, Sikharulidze graduated from

Tbilisi State Medical University , , type = Public , endowment = , administrative_staff = 411 , president = , provost = , principal = , rector = Prof. Zurab Vadachkoria , chancellor = , vice_chancellor = , dean = , head_label = , head = , students = , undergrad =7500 , postg ...

in 1993 and practiced

psychiatry Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psych ...

from 1993 to 1995. After a brief tenure as an Executive Director of the Atlantic Council of Georgia, an umbrella organization that brings together Georgian

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

s working on

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integration issues, Sikharulidze worked for the

Parliament of Georgia The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proportio ...

as a leading specialist on defense and security issues from 1996 to 2000. He headed the NATO division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia from 2000 to 2002 and served as a deputy head of the Georgian Mission of NATO in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He worked for the

National Security Council of Georgia , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = Advisory body , seal = , seal_size = 250 , seal_caption = Seal , seal_alt = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_caption = , logo_alt = , image = , image_size = , image_caption = , im ...

in 2004 and served as a Deputy Minister of Defense in the years 2005-2006. In March 2006, Sikharulidze was appointed the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Georgia to the

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. He was recalled in December 2008 to replace, as the Minister of Defense of Georgia,

Davit Kezerashvili Davit Kezerashvili ( ka, დავით კეზერაშვილი) (born September 22, 1978) is a Jewish-Georgian investor, entrepreneur, media tycoon and former statesman who was the Minister of Defense of Georgia under Mikheil Saakash ...

, whose conduct during the August 2008 war with Russia had been criticized by the opposition. Sikharulidze held the post for eight months, overseeing the rebuilding of Georgia's shattered military after the war. On August 27, 2009, he was replaced with deputy Bacho Akhalaia, a close ally of President

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

and influential Interior Minister

Vano Merabishvili Ivane "Vano" Merabishvili ( ka, ივანე "ვანო" მერაბიშვილი; born 15 April 1968) is a Georgian politician and 9th Prime Minister of Georgia from 4 July to 25 October 2012. A former NGO activist, he became dire ...

, a decision subjected by the opposition to criticism. Sikharulidze was moved to the post of President's foreign policy advisor.Georgia's Saakashvili Replaces Defence Minister

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

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. August 27, 2009 He currently serves as the Chairman of th
Atlantic Council of Georgia
in Tbilisi, Georgia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sikharulidze, Vasil 1968 births Diplomats from Tbilisi Living people Government ministers of Georgia (country) Tbilisi State Medical University alumni Ambassadors of Georgia (country) to the United States