Giorgi Kalandadze ( ka, გიორგი კალანდაძე) (born June 24, 1980) is a retired Georgian

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

who was the Chief of Joint 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 October 8, 2012 to November 11, 2012.

Career

Kalandadze studied at the Cadets' Corps of the Ministry of Defense of Georgia from 1995 to 1997 and at the United Military Academy of the Ministry of Defense from 1997 to 2001. He received further training in 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in 2005 and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

in 2007. From 2007 to 2009, he was the commander of the 4th Infantry Brigade, which suffered the heaviest casualties of all Georgian military units in the

2008 South Ossetia War The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...

with

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. In 2009 Kalandadze was promoted to the position of deputy commander of the Georgian Land Forces and became first deputy chief of joint staff. Simultaneously, from 2010 to 2011, he served as acting commander of the land forces. In October 2012,

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 f ...

Mikheil Saakashvili appointed him Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces. The appointment came a week after Saakashvili's United National Movement suffered defeat in the

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 ( ...

. Critics said Kalandadze's promotion was a "political decision". The Georgian media speculated that the appointment was likely to be reconsidered by the incoming government of the

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

coalition, which favored the candidacy of

Vakhtang Kapanadze Vakhtang Kapanadze ( ka, ვახტანგ კაპანაძე) (born 17 August 1960) is a Georgian major general who was Chief of General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces from 22 November 2013 to 22 November 2016. He held the same ...

, a veteran officer and ex-Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces (2004–2005).

Arrest and dismissal

In November 2012, Kalandadze was briefly arrested by Georgia's new government on criminal charges related to exceeding official powers in two separate cases and illegal confinement. He was released on bail and, despite President Saakashvili's support, was suspended from his office by the court on November 11, 2012. Saakashvili's UNM party claimed persecution of Kalandadze was politically motivated as the new Defense Minister "failed to replace him with his loyal figure". Due to these events, a planned

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...

Military Committee visit to Georgia was postponed and would not be held until February 2014. After his dismissal, Kalandadze left Georgia. In 2014, he volunteered to advise the military of Ukraine during the

War in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

Awards

Kalandadze has been awarded by the government of Georgia the

Presidential Order of Excellence The Presidential Order of Excellence is an award given by the President of Georgia to individuals in culture, education, science, art, sport, and other fields, for significant achievements and meritorious service for Georgia. The award was esta ...

(2012), Vakhtang Gorgasali Order, 1st Rank (2010), Order of Honor (2010), and several Defense Ministry medals.Giorgi Kalandadze. Chief of the Joint Staff of Georgian Armed Forces
. Ministry of Defense of Georgia. Retrieved October 14, 2012.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalandadze, Giorgi 1980 births Generals from Georgia (country) Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia People of the Russo-Georgian War Living people Recipients of the Order of Honor (Georgia) Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine