Akaki Minashvili | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Minashvili (l) in Gori during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War | |
| Member of the Parliament of Georgia | |
| Assumed office 11 December 2020 | |
| In office 7 June 2008 – 18 November 2016 | |
| Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| In office 26 December 2008 – 21 October 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Lasha Zhvania |
| Succeeded by | Tedo Japaridze |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 24, 1980 Tbilisi (Georgian SSR) |
| Political party | United National Movement |
| Alma mater | Tbilisi State University Central European University |
Akaki "Ako" Minashvili (Georgian: აკაკი მინაშვილი; born on September 24, 1980) is a Georgian politician, a member of Parliament in 2008-2016 and since 2020, and a former Chairman of its Foreign Relations Committee.
A civil activist, he worked for several civil society organizations, including the Liberty Institute and Article 19 and co-founded the youth group Kmara that would eventually take a leading role in the Rose Revolution. Executive Director of the liberal Liberty Institute in 2004–2007 at a time when the organization had close ties with the Saakashvili administration, he would regularly provide legislative assistance to the United National Movement and would be appointed to the National Security Council for a short term in 2007–2008, before being elected to Parliament.
Foreign Relations Committee Chairman in 2008–2012, Minashvili's term was marked with a reconfiguration of Georgia's foreign policy in the aftermath of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. In this context, he sought to have the occupied status of Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognized by Western legislatures, became known for his criticism of European institutions in their lack of attention to the region, and was a staunch opponent to the normalization of relations with Russia. His influence led to President Saakashvili entrusting him with domestic responsibilities as well and he would represent the ruling United National Movement in its electoral reform negotiations with the opposition.
In the opposition since 2012, he has been one of the most vocal critics of the Georgian Dream-led government and remained in UNM when its European Georgia faction split in 2017. Reelected to Parliament in 2020, he became the lead negotiator on behalf of UNM during the political crisis that followed the 2020 parliamentary election and the arrest of UNM Chairman Nika Melia, and refused to sign the 19 April 2021 Agreement facilitated by the European Union. In late 2021, he was involved in two separate hunger strikes to call for the release of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili.