Davit Kirkitadze

Davit Kirkitadze (Georgian: დავით კირკიტაძე; born on 2 August 1978) is a Georgian politician who has served as a Member of Parliament in 2004–2008 and since 2020, as well as Governor of Kvemo Kartli in 2008–2013.

A member of the United National Movement, he was one of the most controversial figures of the ruling party during the presidency of Mikheil Saakashvili, characterized for making several statements linking the opposition to Russian hybrid warfare, often being involved in public brawls, and aligning himself with the powerful Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. Not running for reelection in 2008, he was appointed as Governor of Kvemo Kartli a few months before the Russo-Georgian War. In 2013, he became an opposition leader following the Georgian Dream electoral victory and led the party's operations in Kvemo Kartli, including Grigol Vashadze's 2018 presidential campaign. In 2020, he was elected once again to Parliament.

His name has been associated with a long history of controversial episodes. He has been charged three times and arrested twice since 2015, including during the Velistsikhe Incident of 2018 that saw his fight against police officers seeking to block his attempt to disturb the presidential inauguration of Salome Zourabichvili. Denying all the charges, he has maintained that he is a target of the government's "political persecutions" against the opposition. He has been part of three hunger strikes since 2018.