Levan Varshalomidze
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Levan Varshalomidze ( ka, ლევან ვარშალომიძე) (born 17 January 1972) 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 ...
politician and the Chairman of the Government of the
Autonomous Republic of Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...
from 2004 to 2012. He assumed office on 20 July 2004, following the resignation of
Aslan Abashidze Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born July 20, 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pres ...
—who had run the region in defiance to the central government of Georgia—during the
2004 Adjara crisis The Adjara crisis was a political crisis in Georgia's Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President Eduard Shevardnadze's ouster during the Rose Revolution of November 2003. ...
.Saakashvili's Ajara Success: Repeatable Elsewhere in Georgia?
The
International Crisis Group The International Crisis Group (ICG; also known as the Crisis Group) is a transnational non-profit, non-governmental organisation founded in 1995. It is a think tank, used by policymakers and academics, performing research and analysis on global ...
Europe Briefing, 18 August 2004.


Education and early career

Varshalomidze was born in
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
. He graduated with a degree in law, in 1994, from the
Kiev State University Kyiv University or Shevchenko University or officially the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv ( uk, Київський національний університет імені Тараса Шевченка), colloquially known as KNU ...
, where he befriended a fellow Georgian student,
Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.
. He obtained a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
from the same institution in 1999 and joined the ranks of 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= ...
.Chairman of Government
Government of Autonomous Republic of Ajara. Accessed 8 April 2012.
In 2000, when Saakashvili was the minister of justice of Georgia, he appointed Varshalomidze to head one of its bureaus. After a brief service with the
Ministry of Finance of Georgia The Ministry of Finance ( ka, საქართველოს ფინანსთა სამინისტრო) is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Georgia in charge of regulating the financial sector in the Republic of Georgia ...
in 2002, he retired to a private sector. After Georgia's 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 brought Saakashvili to power, Varshalomidze was appointed Director of the
Georgian Railways Georgian Railway LLC ( ka, საქართველოს რკინიგზა, tr) is the national railway company of Georgia. A vital artery linking the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, it sits on the shortest route between Europe and Ce ...
in January 2004.


Government of Adjara

Varshalomidze returned to politics following the departure of Aslan Abashidze, a longtime Adjara strongman, who resigned following a showdown with Saakashvili's government on 6 May 2004. His family has been associated with the region's politics since the 1990s. His father, Guram Varshalomidze (died 2020), an erstwhile ally of Abashidze, chaired the Supreme Council of Adjara in the mid-1990s, later headed the region's statistics office and would lead the Georgian Oil Corporation from July 2004 to 2005. After Abashidze's ouster, Levan Varshalomidze was appointed by Saakashvili as a chairman of a special twenty-member Presidential Interim Council charged with handling the transition. On 20 July 2004, Varshalomidze was approved by the Supreme Council of Adjara as the chairman of the republic's government. Varshalomidze has been seen as a close ally of President Saakashvili and a member of the young reformist team which came into the Georgian politics after the 2003 Rose Revolution. Critics have accused him of amassing personal wealth, pressuring the media, and nepotism. During his tenure, Varshalomidze became a key figure behind the massive redevelopment of Adjara and particularly its capital,
Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of th ...
. He has stated he is trying to develop it, beyond being a summer tourist center, into an international
financial hub A financial centre (British English, BE), financial center (American English, AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of Global financial system#Participants, participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial ...
. In April 2010, Varshalomidze publicly accused
Nika Gilauri Nikoloz "Nika" Gilauri ( ka, ნიკოლოზ იკაგილაური, ; born 14 February 1975) is a Georgian politician who was 8th Prime Minister of Georgia from 6 February 2009 to 30 June 2012. He had served as Minister for Energ ...
,
Prime Minister of Georgia The prime minister of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრი, tr) is the head of government and chief executive of Georgia. In Georgia, the president is a ceremonial head of state and mai ...
, and the central government, of ignoring his requests for delegating "technical functions" to the local authorities in Adjara. Following a meeting with the members of the central government in Tbilisi, Varshalomidze said the differences were resolved. On 14 January 2012, Varshalomidze was awarded by President Saakashvili the Presidential Order of Excellence for his contributions to the efforts that led to release of Georgian sailors from captivity of
Somali pirates Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Somal ...
. On 30 October 2012, following the defeat of Saakashvili-led United National Movement party in the nationwide and
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
legislative elections in favor of the opposition
Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili ( ka, ბიძინა ივანიშვილი, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili ; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgia (country), Georgian politician, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who serv ...
Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...
coalition, the Supreme Council of Adjara elected Archil Khabadze, a candidate nominated by Georgia's new
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Bidzina Ivanishvili, as the new head of Adjara's government. Varshalomidze became the leader of a regional cell of the now-opposition United National Movement party.


Post-2012

After his retirement from government, Levan Varshalomidze founded the LVP Project Management and Consulting company. In 2015, Varshalomidze became an adviser to the
Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...
and led a team of Georgian experts, aiming at facilitating reforms in Ukraine. He returned to Adjara in July 2016 and launched a campaign for the upcoming regional and national legislative elections scheduled for October 8.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varshalomidze, Levan 1972 births Living people People from Batumi Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni Jurists from Georgia (country) United National Movement (Georgia) politicians Heads of Government of Adjara Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence