Archil Gegeshidze

Archil M. Gegeshidze (born 1956 in Tbilisi, Georgia) is Executive Director of the Levan Mikeladze Foundation. In 2013 - 2016 he served as Georgia's ambassador to the United States. He is widely known as a skilled diplomat and a respected expert on regional security and cooperation in the Caucasus, on European Integration, conflict resolution and political risk analysis.

Gegeshidze, 2014

Life and career

Gegeshidze studied social geography at State University of Tbilisi. In 1985 he received a PhD (Candidate of Science) in Economic and Social Geography. In 1994 Gegeshidze became a post-graduate student at the Department for Social and Economic Geography of the Tbilisi State University. He took part in international trainings such as 'Japan Europe and North America: Toward a G-3 World?', Salzburg Seminar, 'Decision Making in the U.S. Foreign Policy', and USIA International Visitor Program . He was a Visiting Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University in the U.S. in 2001. Later, he received the Fulbright Alumni Initiative Award and in 2005-2006 the International Policy Fellowship. He fluently speaks English, Russian and French. He is comfortable with some oriental languages as well.

In 1993-1994 Gegeshidze became deputy head of the First European Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia. In 1994-1995 he was State Advisor of the Staff of the former President of Georgia Eduard Shevardnadze, in 1996-1997 Assistant to the President on national security affairs, 1997-2000 head of the section for foreign policy analysis at the State Chancellery of the President of Georgia and worked as Chief Foreign Policy Advisor. In 1999 he was awarded with the diplomatic rank of an extraordinary and plenipotentiary Ambassador.

In 2000-2001 he was as Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Stanford University (USA). From 2001 until 2013 he worked as a Senior Fellow at Tbilisi-based think-tank GFSIS.

In March 2013 Archil Gegeshidze was appointed Georgia's ambassador to the United States.[1] On April 15, 2013 he handed his credentials to US-President Barack Obama.[2] His priority as the ambassador was to use the support of the US to accelerate Georgia's Euro-integration, strengthen its defense ability and to retain stability of the non-recognition policy. Among his priorities were to deepen trade relations and to attract investments from the US, cooperation in cultural, educational and science fields.[3] He completed his tour of duty on October 9, 2016.

Selected publications
  • Security of the Caucasus and the Black Sea Area: Problems and Opportunities. Proceedings of the Conference on "Future Conventional Arms Control Requirements in Europe", Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Ebenhausen, 1994.
  • The South Caucasus: Getting Close to Europe? Marco Polo Magazine, Venice, 1999, No.1.
  • The New silk Road: A Georgian Perspective Perceptions, Vol. V, No. 2, Jun-Aug, 2000.
  • Georgia's Transit Capacity National Assessment Report on Sustainable Development, UN Summit, Johannesburg, 2002.
  • The Need for a New Regional Agenda in the Black Sea Area, Insight Turkey, Vol.4, No.3, 2002.
  • A Strategic Vision for Georgia, The Washington Times, September 13, 2003.
  • Georgia's Regional Vulnerabilities and the Ajaria Crisis Insight Turkey, Vol.6, No.2, 2004.
  • Gegeshidze at IISS: Russia gains a foothold in the South Caucasus. With new military bases, Moscow has secured its influence in the region
  • Archil Gegeshidze: We must do all in our power so that US support for Georgia increases more, Interpressnews, 22.2.2013.

References
  1. Saakashvili Signs Appointing Nine New Ambassadors, Civil Georgia, Tbilisi, 18 March 2013.
  2. Аrchil Gegeshvili will hand his credentials to the President of USA on 15 April 2013, Georgia Online, 9 April 2013 (in Russian).
  3. Georgia’s new ambassador to the US, dfwatch, March 20, 2013.
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