David Usupashvili ( ka, დავით უსუფაშვილი, ''Davit Usupašvili'') (born March 5, 1968) is a Georgian lawyer and politician who was the

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of 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 proporti ...

from 2012 to 2016. He served as the chairman of the

Republican Party of Georgia The Republican Party of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს რესპუბლიკური პარტია, ''sakartvelos resp'ublik'uri part'ia''), commonly known as the Republicans (რესპუბლიკელებ� ...

from June 27, 2005 to November 3, 2013. Nowadays, he is a chairman of the Political Council of

Lelo for Georgia Lelo for Georgia () is a centrist liberal political party in Georgia that was created at the end of 2019 by businessmen Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze. The party has attracted a number of prominent political figures and parties (through mer ...

Career

Born in Magharo in

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

, Usupashvili graduated from the Tbilisi State University with a degree in law in 1992 and obtained MA in International Development Policy from the

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

in 1999. As a legal adviser with the

State Council of Georgia State Council of the Republic of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს რესპუბლიკის სახელმწიფო საბჭო, tr) was a temporary supreme governing body of the country, which was established i ...

, he was involved in drafting the Constitution of Georgia from 1993 to 1995. In 1994 he was among the founding members of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA), a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting human rights and the rule of law, which he led as its first chairman from 1994 to 1997. He was active in the NGO-organized protests during the November 2003

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 ...

, which swept Mikheil Saakashvili to the presidency of Georgia. Usupashvili then distanced himself from the alliance with Saakashvili and withdrew into opposition, becoming, in June 2005, the chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia, a position he held until being succeeded by Khatuna Samnidze in November 2013. In 2011, Usupashvili allied himself with the multi-billionaire businessman-turned-politician

Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili ( ka, ბიძინა ივანიშვილი, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili ; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgian politician, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who served as Prime Minist ...

and became one of the leaders of Ivanishvili's

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...

coalition, of which the Republican Party was a member. After the coalition's victory in the 2012 parliamentary election, Usupashvili was elected the chairman of the Parliament of Georgia on October 21, 2012. The Republican Party broke with the Georgian Dream and ran independently for the October 2016 parliamentary elections in which it failed to clear the required threshold. Shortly after the election, Usupashvili left the Republican Party, citing political and tactical disagreements. In June 2016, Usupashvili announced the creation of a new centrist political movement with the aim to contest the upcoming municipal election in October 2017. Usupashvili is married to

Tinatin Khidasheli Tinatin "Tina" Khidasheli ( ka, თინათინ (თინა) ხიდაშელი; born 8 June 1973) is a Georgian jurist and politician. A Republican Party member and former civil society activist, she was appointed as Georgia's Min ...

, a fellow former Republican Party politician.Georgian Opposition Cries Foul Over By-Elections
. Eurasianet.org. August 7, 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Usupashvili, David Speakers of the Parliament of Georgia 1968 births Living people Jurists from Georgia (country) Lawyers from Georgia (country) Tbilisi State University alumni Tbilisi State University faculty People from Kakheti 21st-century politicians from Georgia (country)