Irakli Chikovani (born 28 August 1980) is a Georgian politician who has served as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence of Georgia since February 8, 2024. A member of the Georgian Dream party, he was previously a Member of Parliament from 2020 to 2024 and 2012 to 2016.[2]
Irakli Chikovani | |
|---|---|
ირაკლი ჩიქოვანი | |
_upon_the_conclusion_of_the_23rd_iteration_of_the_Ukraine_Defense_Contact_Group_at_NATO_Headquarters_in_Brussels,_Belgium,_June_13,_2024_(cropped).jpg) Official portrait, 2020 | |
| Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia | |
| Assumed office 9 February 2024[1] Serving with Thea Tsulukiani | |
| Prime Minister | Irakli Kobakhidze |
| Preceded by | Levan Davitashvili |
| Minister of Defence | |
| Assumed office 8 February 2024 | |
| Prime Minister | Irakli Kobakhidze |
| Preceded by | Juansher Burchuladze |
| Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia | |
| In office 16 November 2023 – 8 February 2024 | |
| Speaker | Shalva Papuashvili |
| Member of the Parliament of Georgia | |
| In office 11 December 2020 – 8 February 2024 | |
| In office 21 October 2012 – 18 November 2016 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 August 1980 Zugdidi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia) |
| Citizenship | Georgia |
| Political party | Georgian Dream |
| Spouse | Diana Zhgenti |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Tbilisi State University |
Biography
editChikovani joined politics in 2012, as a member of former Deputy Prime Minister Irakli Alasania's Free Democrats party, which was initially a part of the Georgian Dream coalition. After the coalition was disbanded,[3] Chikovani participated in the Free Democrats 2016 election campaign, in which the party failed to obtain any seats.[4] In 2020, Chikovani rejoined Georgian Dream and ran for MP in the Zugdidi constituency in that year's election, he won the seat with 93,88% of the vote.[5] On February 8, 2024, Chikovani joined Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze's government as the Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.[6]
References
edit- ^ საქართველოს პრემიერ-მინისტრის ბრძანება №21 ირაკლი ჩიქოვანის თავდაცვის მინისტრად დანიშვნის შესახებ, https://www.gov.ge/
- ^ "Irakli Chikovani - Parliament of Georgia". parliament.ge. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Free Democrats: New opposition party in Georgia". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Georgia's Free Democrats announces party list ahead of October elections". commonspace.eu. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "ალასანია, გახარია, კობახიძე - ირაკლი ჩიქოვანის გზა თავდაცვის მინისტრობამდე". რადიო თავისუფლება (in Georgian). 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-14.
- ^ "Georgian Parliament Approves New Premier Ahead of Elections". Bloomberg.com. 2024-02-08. Retrieved 2024-02-14.