Eduard Shevardnadze

Eduard Shevardnadze GCMG
ედუარდ შევარდნაძე
Shevardnadze in 1997
2nd President of Georgia
In office 26 November 1995 – 23 November 2003
Preceded by	Zviad Gamsakhurdia
Succeeded by	Nino Burjanadze (acting)
1st Chairman of the Georgian Parliament
In office 4 November 1992 – 26 November 1995
Preceded by	Parliament established; Himself as Chairman of the State Council of Georgia
Succeeded by	Zurab Zhvania
Chairman of the State Council of Georgia
In office 10 March 1992 – 4 November 1992
Preceded by	State Council established; Military Council as interim head of state
Succeeded by	State Council abolished; Himself as Chairman of the Georgian Parliament
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union
In office 2 July 1985 – 20 December 1990
Appointed by	Mikhail Gorbachev
Premier	Nikolai Tikhonov Nikolai Ryzhkov
Preceded by	Andrei Gromyko
Succeeded by	Aleksandr Bessmertnykh
In office 19 November 1991 – 26 December 1991
Premier	Ivan Silayev
Preceded by	Boris Pankin (acting)
Succeeded by	Position abolished
First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party
In office 29 September 1972 – 6 July 1985
Preceded by	Vasil Mzhavanadze
Succeeded by	Jumber Patiashvili
Full member of the 26th and 27th Politburo
In office 1 July 1985 – 14 July 1990
Minister of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR
In office 22 May 1965 – 1972
Preceded by	Otar Kavtanadze
Succeeded by	Konstantin Ketiladze
Personal details
Born	(1928-01-25)25 January 1928 Mamati, Guria, Georgian SSR, Transcaucasian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Georgia)
Died	7 July 2014(2014-07-07) (aged 86) Tbilisi, Georgia
Nationality	Soviet (until 1991) Georgian (from 1991)
Political party	Communist Party of the Georgian SSR (1948–1991) Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1948–1991) Independent (1991–1995) Union of Citizens (1995–2003)
Spouse	Nanuli Tsagareishvili ​ ​ (m. 1951; died 2004)​
Children	Paata Manana
Relatives	Sophie Shevardnadze (granddaughter)
Awards	(see § Honours and awards)
Religion	Georgian Orthodox Church
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union
Branch/service	MVD
Years of service	1964–1972
Rank	Major general
Commands	Ministry of Public Order of the Georgian SSR (1965–1968) Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR (1968–1972)

Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze (Georgian: ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე, romanized: Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia for several non-consecutive periods from 1972 until his resignation in 2003 and also served as the final Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1990.

Shevardnadze started his political career in the late 1940s as a leading member of his local Komsomol organisation. He was later appointed its Second Secretary, then its First Secretary. His rise in the Georgian Soviet hierarchy continued until 1961 when he was demoted after he insulted a senior official. After spending two years in obscurity, Shevardnadze returned as a First Secretary of a Tbilisi city district, and was able to charge the Tbilisi First Secretary at the time with corruption. His anti-corruption work quickly garnered the interest of the Soviet government and Shevardnadze was appointed as First Deputy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Georgian SSR. He would later become the head of the internal affairs ministry and was able to charge First Secretary (leader of Soviet Georgia) Vasil Mzhavanadze with corruption.

He served as First Secretary of the Georgian Communist Party (GPC) from 1972 to 1985, which made him the de facto leader of Georgia. As First Secretary, Shevardnadze started several economic reforms, which would spur economic growth in the republic—an uncommon occurrence in the Soviet Union because the country was experiencing a nationwide economic stagnation. Shevardnadze's anti-corruption campaign continued until he resigned from his office as First Secretary.

In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev appointed Shevardnadze to the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served in this position, with the exception of a brief interruption between 1990 and 1991, until the fall of the Soviet Union. During this time, only Gorbachev would outrank Shevardnadze in importance in Soviet foreign policy. Shevardnadze was responsible for many key decisions in Soviet foreign policy during the Gorbachev era, and was seen by the outside world as the face of Soviet reforms such as Perestroika.^[1]

In the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, Shevardnadze returned to the newly independent Republic of Georgia, after being asked to lead the country by the Military Council, which had recently deposed the country's first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia. In 1992 Shevardnadze became the leader of Georgia (as Chairman of Parliament). He was formally elected as president in 1995. Under his rule, the peace treaty was signed in Sochi, which ended military hostilities in South Ossetia, although Georgia lost effective control over large part of the territory. In August 1992 the war broke out in Abkhazia, which Georgia also lost. Shevardnadze also headed the government in the civil war in 1993 against pro-Gamsakhurdia forces, which did not recognize Shevardnadze as a legitimate leader and tried to regain power. Shevardnadze signed Georgia up to the Commonwealth of Independent States, in return receiving help from Russia to end the conflict, although Georgia also deepened its ties with the European Union and the United States. It joined the Council of Europe in 1999 and declared its intention to join NATO in 2002. Shevardnadze oversaw large-scale privatization and other political and economic changes. His rule was marked by rampant corruption and accusations of nepotism. Allegations of electoral fraud during the 2003 legislative election led to a series of public protests and demonstrations colloquially known as the Rose Revolution. Eventually, Shevardnadze agreed to resign. He later published his memoirs and lived in relative obscurity until his death in 2014.