Petriashvili shevardnadze biography

1. Biography of Eduard Shevardnadze
2. Early Career
3. Minister of Foreign Affairs
4. Presidency in Georgia
5. Resignation

Biography of Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Amvrosiyevich Shevardnadze was born in 1928 in the highland village of Mamati in the Chokhatauri district. He served as a member of the Politburo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, and President of Georgia from 1992 to 2003.

Early Career

From 1957 to 1961, Shevardnadze served as the first secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol in Georgia. He then became the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from 1965 to 1972. In 1972, he was appointed as the first secretary of the Georgian Communist Party's Central Committee.

Minister of Foreign Affairs

In 1985, Shevardnadze took on the role of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, replacing Andrei Gromyko, who had held the position for 28 years. He also became a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1990.

Presidency in Georgia

In May 1991, Georgia held its first general presidential elections, and Zviad Gamsakhurdia was elected as the president. However, less than a year later, in January 1992, Gamsakhurdia was removed from power by the Military Council, which abolished the presidency. Shevardnadze returned to Georgia in 1992 and was elected as the head of state by the parliament.

In August 1995, the Georgian parliament adopted a constitution that established the president as an elected position through direct voting. On November 5, 1995, parliamentary and presidential elections were held in Georgia, and Shevardnadze emerged as the winner. He was re-elected for a second term in 2000.

Resignation

On November 23, 2003, Shevardnadze resigned from his position as the President of Georgia.