Georgia. Who is Salome Zurabishvili

The role of Salome Zurabishvili as president Georgia it had long been largely symbolic and its power was considered limited. However, Zurabishvili has recently become the face of mass protests, the direct cause of which were the controversial results of the parliamentary elections on October 26, writes the website of the Russian-language section of Deutsche Welle radio.

Protests in Georgia also broke out due to the decision of the pro-Russian government in Tbilisi to suspend negotiations with the European Union regarding the country's membership. Zurabishvili called these protests a “resistance movement.” She was the first president of Georgia to directly participate in the demonstrations.

For almost a month, hundreds of thousands of Georgians have been taking to the streets of Tbilisi and other cities in their country. They suffer not only the cold, but also the brutal actions of the police, who use water cannons and tear gas against them. After the ruling Georgian Dream party introduced an authoritarian style of government, Western-oriented Georgians see Zurabishvili as the last ray of hope, writes “Deutsche Welle”.

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Salome Zurabishvili was born in Paris into a family of Georgian political emigrants. In 1921, her family fled their homeland after Bolshevik troops entered Tbilisi.

After earning her education in Paris and New York, Zurabishvili devoted over 30 years to French diplomacy, working in USA, Italy and Chad, and then returned to her home country, where she served as ambassador France in Georgia. In 2004, by mutual consent of the presidents of France and Georgia, she adopted Georgian citizenship and became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.

One of her main achievements as the head of Georgian diplomacy is her contribution to the negotiation process and reaching an agreement on the withdrawal of Russian bases from Georgian territory – reminds the BBC's Russian section.

Zourabishvili was once considered a supporter of the Georgian Dream party. In 2018, she ran in the presidential elections supported by this pro-Russian group and won in the second round of the elections, defeating Grigol Vashadze, associated with the United National Movement. However, already then, analysts in Tbilisi predicted that “it is unlikely that she will agree with Bidzina Ivanishvili's party on everything.” – Nobody knows what will happen in the future, because Zurabishvili easily gets into conflicts and confrontations with others, so, in my opinion, it will not be a great gift for the Georgian Dream – said the well-known Georgian political scientist Kornely Kakachia at the time.

Zourabishvili's relations with the Georgian Dream gradually began to cool after the invasion Russia on Ukraine in 2022 have completely changed, as this group has increasingly begun to adapt its policy to Moscow and position itself as the “only party” that can “avoid” a new war with Russia, which has already occupied part of Georgia.

Zurabishvili has distanced herself from the Georgian Dream because she supports the European future of her country, we read on the Deutsche Welle website.

Salome Zurabishvili's presidential term was to expire on December 29 this year. On this day, Mikheil Kavelshvili, supported by Georgian Dream and elected by the electoral college consisting of members of parliament and representatives of local authorities, was sworn in as president of Georgia. Zourabishvili left the presidential palace and joined the protesters. She also announced that she had the “legitimacy to govern” because Kavelashvili was not elected in direct elections, but was chosen by majority politicians.

Experts in Tbilisi ask the question: what's next? Will Zourabishvili become a “symbolic figure” or an “active opposition leader”? – Everything Salome Zurabishvili has already done and what she still needs to do is very important. She may no longer be president, but she has already become the leader of the opposition and the voice of the people. Her most important achievement is that by taking office, in accordance with the will of the people, she informed Europe that the Georgian people want to be together with Europe, says former Minister of Reintegration of Georgia and political scientist Paata Zakareishwili.

– Now the most important thing is to hold new parliamentary elections. Zourabishvili, even remaining a former president, will continue to perform the same two functions: she will help solve internal political problems in her country and courageously talk to the democratic world, Zakareishwili believes.

– Zurabishvili became the coordinator, the person uniting democratic forces in the country. This is important because she is the last president of Georgia directly elected by the nation – Kornely Kakachia is currently talking about her, who already in 2018 predicted her conflict with the Georgian Dream. – Her contacts with Western leaders, top European Union officials and France helped her become a “torchbearer”, a leading force in Georgia's pro-European election, Kakachia adds.

Political scientist Gia Nodia believes that Zourabishvili's actions “could become an additional impulse for social protest.” However, in his opinion, in order to reverse the current situation in the country, “some crisis must begin in the government.” – It is difficult to imagine that Bidzina Ivanishvili himself (the leader of the Georgian Dream – ed.) will come to his senses, regret something, that his or Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's worldview will change. It is important to somehow deepen the existing crisis tendencies in the government and, most importantly, in its repressive apparatus, Nodia added.