Mikheil
Saakashvili has been the President of Georgia since 2004. A graduate
of Columbia Law School, he practiced law in New York City for a year
before returning to Georgia to enter politics after the USSR's
dissolution. Once in Georgia, he quickly entered Parliament as a
member of President Eduard Shevardnadze's party, eventually becoming
Minister of Justice. However, he became disillusioned by the
corruption in Shevardnadze's government and started a new political
party.
In
2003, he ran for president against Shevardnadze, losing elections
widely perceived as rigged. The ensuing protests, dubbed the Rose
Revolution, forced Shevardnadze to step down after Saakashvili won
new elections by a landslide. As president, he has sought to
strengthen ties with the West while not alienating Russia. Relations
with Russia became tenuous in August 2008 when South Ossetia, a
self-declared republic recognized only by Russia, became the scene
of a five-day military conflict.
For more information, see http://nyti.ms/dafzmk.
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