Kakha Kaladze

Kakha Kaladze
კახა კალაძე
Kaladze in 2020
10th Mayor of Tbilisi
Incumbent
Assumed office
13 November 2017
Preceded byDavit Narmania
Minister of Energy of Georgia
In office
26 November 2016 – 10 July 2017
Prime MinisterGiorgi Kvirikashvili
Preceded byIlia Eloshvili
Succeeded byIlia Eloshvili
In office
25 October 2012 – 9 September 2016
Prime MinisterBidzina Ivanishvili
Irakli Garibashvili
Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Preceded byVakhtang Balavadze
Succeeded byIlia Eloshvili
Deputy Prime Minister of Georgia
In office
25 October 2012 – 12 July 2017
Prime MinisterBidzina Ivanishvili
Irakli Garibashvili
Giorgi Kvirikashvili
Preceded byEkaterine Tkeshelashvili
Succeeded byMikheil Janelidze
Personal details
Born
Kakhaber Kaladze[1]

(1978-02-27) 27 February 1978 (age 46)
Samtredia, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Political partyGeorgian Dream (2012–present)
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Spouse
​
(m. 2013)​
Children
  • Levan
  • Kakhaber
  • Vache
  • Nikola
Parent(s)Karlo Kaladze
Medeya Kaladze
Alma materTbilisi State University
Occupation
Signature
Association football career
Position(s) Centre back, left back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–1998 Dinamo Tbilisi 82 (1)
1998–2001 Dynamo Kyiv 71 (6)
1998–2000 → Dynamo-2 Kyiv 9 (1)
2001–2010 Milan 194 (12)
2010–2012 Genoa 53 (1)
Total 409 (21)
International career
1993–1994 Georgia U17 2 (0)
1995 Georgia U19 4 (0)
1995–1996 Georgia U21 3 (0)
1996–2011 Georgia 83 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kakhaber "Kakha" Kaladze (Georgian: კახაბერ "კახა" კალაძე, pronounced [kʼaχabeɾ kʼaɫadzɛ]; born 27 February 1978) is a Georgian politician and former footballer who has served as the Mayor of Tbilisi since November 2017. A versatile player, he was capable of playing both as a centre-back and as a left-back,[3] or even as a wide midfielder.[4] He played for the Georgia national team from 1996 to 2011. He was voted Georgian Footballer of the Year in 2001–2003, 2006[5] and 2011 and was considered one of Georgia's most important players.[6][7]

Kaladze started his football career in 1993 at Umaglesi Liga club Dinamo Tbilisi and made 82 appearances in a five-year spell. In 1998, he moved to the Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv and made 71 appearances until 2001, when he was signed by the Italian Serie A club Milan. He has won one Serie A, three Ukrainian Premier League and five Umaglesi Liga titles. With Milan, he won the Champions League on two occasions, the UEFA Super Cup once and the FIFA Club World Cup once. After captaining his country 50 times in 84 appearances, Kaladze announced his retirement from the Georgian national team on 11 December 2011.[8][9]

Born in Samtredia, a town in the Imereti region, Kaladze comes from a footballing family as his father played for Lokomotiv Samtredia and was also president of the team for some time. His brother was kidnapped in a high-profile case in 2001 and officially declared dead in 2006, resulting in two men being sentenced to prison for a combined total of 30 years. Outside of football, he owns a company called Kala Capital and an organisation called Kala Foundation, as well as being an ambassador for SOS Children's Villages. He is married to Anouki Areshidze, with whom he has four children.

Kaladze became involved in the politics of Georgia as a member of the opposition Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia party, founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili in February 2012. He was elected to the Parliament of Georgia on 1 October 2012 and approved as Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Energy in Ivanishvili's cabinet on 25 October 2012.[10] He continued to occupy both of these position under the succeeding cabinet of Giorgi Kvirikashvili until July 2017, when he resigned to run for the Mayor of Tbilisi as a Georgian Dream candidate in the October 2017 election,[11] which he won with 51.13%. In 2021, he was reelected as the Mayor of Tbilisi, gaining 55.61% of the vote in the second round of the election.

  1. ^ "UCL Booking List 2006/2007" (PDF). UEFA. 12 April 2007. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kakha Kaladze A.C. Milan profile was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ May, John (22 May 2007). "AC Milan Pen Pics". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Champions' League final: How the old trafford teams shape up". The Independent. 27 May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  5. ^ Каладзе в четвертый раз признан лучшим футболистом Грузии (in Russian). Sport-express.ru. 9 June 2006. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2009.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Goal Project was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Georgia clashes with Russia – in football". BBC Sport. 11 October 2002. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2009.
  8. ^ "Ivanishvili Launches Public Movement". Civil Georgia. 11 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Georgia captain Kaladze announces retirement". UEFA.com. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 January 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Ivanishvili Confirmed as Prime Minister". Civil Georgia. 25 October 2012. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  11. ^ "New Energy Minister, Deputy PM Appointed". Civil Georgia. 12 July 2017. Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2017.