Mikheil Saakashvili

Mikheil Saakashvili (მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; Міхеіл Саакашвілі, also known as Misha in Georgia; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

Saakashvili entered Georgian politics in 1995.

He served as member of parliament and minister of justice under President Eduard Shevardnadze.

Saakashvili later moved to opposition, establishing the United National Movement party.

In 2003, Saakashvili became a leading opposition figure who accused the government of rigging the 2003 Georgian parliamentary election, spearheading mass protests which saw President Shevardnadze resign from his post in the bloodless Rose Revolution.

Georgia's economy grew 70% between 2003 and 2013, and per capita income roughly tripled.

However, poverty only marginally declined.

At the end of Saakashvili's second term, about a quarter of the population was still living below the absolute poverty rate.

He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013.

Saakashvili's key role in the protests led to him being elected as the President in 2004.

Georgia's ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International improved dramatically from rank 133 in 2004 to 67 in 2008 and further to 51 in 2012, surpassing several EU countries.

The World Bank ranked the country 8th in terms of ease of doing business and named it as the leading economic reformer in the world.

Military budget rose to 9.2% of GDP by 2007 to strengthen the nation's defense capability.

The government pursued a zero-tolerance policy towards crime.

Saakashvili appointed Kakha Bendukidze as the Minister of Economy to implement economic liberalization and rapid privatization.

In 2007, mass demonstrations erupted demanding resignation of Saakashvili.

The protests, which were triggered by detention of Georgian politician Irakli Okruashvili, were violently dispersed by the special forces on 7 November 2007.

The largest opposition media Imedi TV was raided by the police and transformed into a pro-government channel.

He was later reelected as President in 2008.

The Abkhaz–Georgian and Georgian-Ossetian conflicts continued during Saakashvili's presidency and saw a major escalation in 2008, which saw Russia officially announcing its support for separatists in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Saakashvili led Georgia through the 2008 Russo-Georgian War, which ended after five days of fighting by a ceasefire agreement negotiated by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

The war resulted in Georgia losing all of its possessions in the disputed territories.

Russia subsequently recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, while Georgia responded with breaking diplomatic relations.

On the economic front, Saakashvili pursued a neoliberal policy: abolition of the minimum wage, dismissal of 60,000 civil servants, lowering of corporate income tax from 20% to 15%, and dividend tax from 10% to 5%.

In 2009, Forbes ranked Georgia as the fourth country with the lowest tax burden in the world.

During Saakashvili's tenure, Georgia went through several political crises.

Another wave of protests erupted in 2009.

In May 2011, the government again violently responded to the opposition protests staged by Saakashvili's former ally Nino Burjanadze.

Saakashvili was embroiled in a number of scandals, the most important ones relating to the beating of the opposition politician Valery Gelashvili and the murder of Sandro Girgvliani.

However, his party suffered defeat in the 2012 Georgian parliamentary election, while Saakashvili was barred by the constitution of Georgia from seeking a third term in the 2013 presidential election, which was also won by the opposition candidate.

During his tenure as president, Saakashvili oversaw police, military, economic and government reforms.

As the new Patrol Police department was established, the entire police force was fired and replaced with new one in an effort to root out corruption.

The bureaucratic spendings were decreased as several ministries were abolished to cut the government size.

In September 2012, the leaked video footage of systemic torture and rape in the Georgian prison system came to light during the Gldani prison scandal.

Saakashvili was accused of being behind police brutality and the inhuman treatment of inmates.

Shortly after the 2013 presidential election, Saakashvili left Georgia.

From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast.

He is the founder and former chairman of the United National Movement party.

Saakashvili heads the executive committee of Ukraine's National Reform Council since 7 May 2020.

In 2021 he began serving a six-year prison sentence in Georgia on charges of abuse of power and organization of an assault occasioning grievous bodily harm against an opposition lawmaker Valery Gelashvili.