Davit Kezerashvili

Davit Kezerashvili (Georgian: დავით კეზერაშვილი) (born September 22, 1978) is an investor, entrepreneur and statesman, who was the Minister of Defense of Georgia.

Davit Kezerashvili დავით კეზერაშვილი
Minister of Defense of Georgia
In office November 10, 2006 – December 5, 2008
President	Mikheil Saakashvili Nino Burjanadze (Acting) Mikheil Saakashvili
Preceded by	Irakli Okruashvili
Succeeded by	Vasil Sikharulidze
Personal details
Born	September 22, 1978 Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, USSR
Political party	National Movement - Democrats

Biography

Kezerashvili was born in Tbilisi[1] to a Jewish family. After migrating to Russia, he went to Israel in 1992, where he lived with his grandmother in the Kiryat Ben-Gurion neighborhood of Holon and attended high school. After a year and a half, he left Israel and returned to Georgia. He studied law and international relations at Tbilisi State University.[2]

After working in the Justice Ministry he became an assistant to Mikheil Saakashvili, then the Minister for Justice.

Kezerashvili then worked in the Finance Ministry from 2004 until November 2006, including a role as chair of the financial police force. On November 11, 2006, he was appointed as Georgian Defense Minister. He was dismissed from this post amid criticisms over the Georgia-Russia war on December 5, 2008.[3]

Political track record

Kezerashvili is a founding member of the liberal United National Movement, and contested an election in 2002 under their banner.[4] He is also a close personal ally of the party's leader, Georgian President Saakashvili.[5]

He was criticized by opposition but supported by western allies for his achievements in reforming defense institutions.

Kezerashvili was dismissed from his post of the defence minister on December 5, 2008 during a major cabinet shuffle. His dismissal was expected in the aftermath of Georgia's defeat in the 2008 South Ossetia War.[6] Davit Kezerashvili is succeeded by former ambassador to the US, Vasil Sikharulidze.

Notes

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2008-08-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. Itar-TASS (13 Nov 2006), Territorial unity remains key goal of Georgia-new defense minister Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
3. More Cabinet Shake-Ups in Georgia. New York Times. December 5, 2008.
4. UNA Georgia information service (accessed 15 November 2005) Saakashvili-National movement bloc Archived 2007-10-08 at the Wayback Machine
5. Civil Georgia, Anjaparidze, Zaal (NoIrakli Okruashvili proves that one's as good as none in politics Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Georgian defense, foreign ministers fired". The Associated Press. 2008-12-06. Retrieved 2008-12-09.

See also

• Foreign relations of Georgia
• Politics of Georgia