President of Georgia

President of Georgia
საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი
since 16 December 2018
Office of the President of Georgia
Head of State of Georgia
ResidenceOrbeliani Palace
AppointerDirect popular vote:
  • 1991 to 2018
Electoral College:
  • 2024 onward
Term lengthEffective 1991:
  • five years
Effective 2004:
  • four years
Effective 2018:
  • six years
Effective 2024:
  • five years, renewable once
Constituting instrumentConstitution of Georgia
Inaugural holderZviad Gamsakhurdia
Formation14 April 1991
(33 years ago)
 (1991-04-14)
DeputyChairperson of the Parliament
Salary13,000 GEL per month[1][2]
WebsiteOfficial website

The president of Georgia (Georgian: საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, romanized: sakartvelos p'rezident'i) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia as well as the commander-in-chief of the Defense Forces. The constitution defines the presidential office as "the guarantor of the country's unity and national independence."[3]

The president is largely a figurehead as in many parliamentary democracies. Executive power is vested in the Government and the prime minister. The office was first introduced by the Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia on 14 April 1991, five days after Georgia's declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.[4] The president serves a five-year term.

The current president is Salome Zourabichvili. Because of Georgia's transition to a fully parliamentary system she is the last president to be elected directly by the citizens.

  1. ^ https://www.transparency.ge/sites/default/files/labor-remuneration.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  2. ^ "Georgia increases the president's salary". Democracy & Freedom Watch. 11 December 2013.
  3. ^ Article 49, Section 1–3 of the Constitution of Georgia (country) (2018)
  4. ^ (in Georgian and Russian) The Law of the Republic of Georgia on the Introduction of the Post of President of the Republic of Georgia Archived 20 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine. The Parliament of Georgia Archive. Accessed on 17 April 2011