Date and Place of Birth: 06.03.1979, Tbilisi

Education:

2010-2015

Tbilisi State University, International Ph.D. Programme in International Relations
Ph.D. in International Relations (summa cum laude)
Scholarship from Academic Fellowship Program of the Open Society
Institute Europe Foundation

2001-2003

University of Hanover, Department of Political Science,
Master of Arts in European Studies, Diploma with Honour
Master Thesis: “ESDP and NATO – Partnership or Rivalry?”
Fellow of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung

1995-2000

Georgian Technical University, Humanitarian-Technical Institute
Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations, Diploma with Honour

1994-1995

Academic Magnet High School at Burke, Charleston, SC, USA
Fellow of Freedom Support Act / Future Leaders Exchange Program,
United States Information Agency

Language Skills:

Georgian (Native)
English (Fluent)
German (Fluent)
Russian (Fluent)

Professional Experience:

2020-   Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee, Parliament of Georgia

2017-2020

- Chief of Cabinet of the Speaker, Parliament of Georgia
- Leading the team of advisers to the Speaker of the Parliament
- Coordination of preparation of speeches and reports of the Speaker of the Parliament.
- Provision of legal and analytical advice to the Speaker
- Planning and coordination of outgoing and incoming official visits
- Coordination of Donor-supported projects in the Parliament
- Representing Parliament in interagency working groups

2010-2017

- Manager, Integrated Border Management Programmes in South Caucasus, United Nations Development Programme
- Leading the country team responsible for the implementation of the Programme; Supervising and supporting timely implementation of Programme activities
- Supervising and guiding the national experts and administrative staff
- Preparing programme work plan and budgets
- Providing advice to the beneficiary institutions
- Fostering linkages of the Programme with other national and international stakeholders
- Representing the Programme on behalf of UNDP and EU
- Designing project proposals

2005-2010

- National Expert, Office of the European Union Special
- Representative for the South Caucasus
- Establishing and maintaining close contacts with government institutions
- Conducting negotiations with relevant state bodies on modalities of projects
- Advising on general political trends
- Drafting weekly, monthly and progress reports; project plans
- Observing of presidential and parliamentary elections
- Liaison officer at the National Security Council of Georgia
- Co-authoring of Integrated Border Management Strategy of Georgia

2004 -2005

- Policy Analyst, Joint project of the US State Department and National Security Council (NSC) of Georgia on analytical capacity building at NSC, administered by RAND Corporation
- Writing policy memos on Georgia-EU and Georgia-NATO affairs
- Preparing proposals for conflict resolution mechanisms
- Drafting talking points for visits of the Secretary of the NSC
- Analytical capacity building
- Drafting national security concept

2001-2004

- Adviser for Study Abroad Programs, International Office, University of Hanover
- Advising students in Study Abroad Programs and scholarship possibilities
- Helping students in completing application forms
- Organizing general information meetings for Study Abroad Programs

1998-2000

- Purchasing Manager, Würth-Georgia GmbH
- Drafting marketing strategy
- Conducting purchases from the head office in Germany and
other affiliate offices in Europe
- Preparing monthly reports (Actual/Plan comparison)
- Preparing tender proposals

1996-1998

- Editor of English Edition, Caucasus-Press News Agency
- Drafting and editing daily news bulletins covering current political, economic, cultural, sports events all over the Caucasus region

Academic Experience:

2017 – present   Full Professor, Head of Master’s Program, Command and General Staff College, Defence Academy of Georgia

2009 -present   Associate Professor, (until 2020 Assistant Professor and Invited Professor) Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Law Taught courses: EU Foreign Policy, EU Regional Policy, Ethnic Conflicts, Foreign Policy of Germany, Border Management

2017-2019   Academic Staff, Erasmus+ Project – Promoting Migration Studies in Higher Education

2015-2018   Academic Staff, Erasmus+ Project – Creation of Graduate Curriculum in Peace Studies in Georgia (Consortium of EU and Georgian universities)

2015-2016   Researcher – Horizon 2020 Project – Whole-of-Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding (WOSCAP)

2013-2015   Academic Staff, Tempus Project – Creation of Graduate Curriculum in Migration Studies in Georgia (Consortium of EU and South Caucasus Universities)

Other Activities:

2015-2016   Member of Commission on European Integration, Open Society Georgia Foundation

2010-2013   Annual cross-disciplinary conference of Academic Fellowship Program Fellows in International Relations/Political Science/History; Istanbul, Turkey VIII. 2012 Summer University on Advanced Research Methods by European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), University of Ljubljana

II. 2012 Winter University on Research Methods by European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR), University of Vienna

IX. 2010 Integrated Border Management Course, Crisis Management Centre of Finland, Imatra, Finland

2009-2014   Justice, Rule of Law, Food Safety Standards, Open World Programme, SC, TX, GA, USA

V. 2007 “Young Political Leadership and Democracy” by Israeli Foreign Ministry and International Institute of Leadership Histadrut, Beit-Berl, Israel

VII. 2005 Summer School on “Violent Conflicts: Past, Present and Future” by Kokkalis Foundation and Yale University, Ancient Olympia, Greece

VI. 2005 Summer School “Management of Peace Processes”, by INCORE (International Conflict Research), University of Ulster, City of Derry, Northern Ireland

2004 -2005   Seminars by RAND Corporation on “Decision-making in National Security Policy”, “Best Practice Economic Policies and the Transition” and “Crisis management, Response and Decision-making”, Tbilisi- Washington D.C.

EDUCATION

2007-2008 CERIS - Centre Européen de Recherches Internationales & Stratégiques (Belgium) - International Politics
1995-2000 Tbilisi State University - Faculty of Law, Graduated with Honor, Qualification of Lawyer
1996-1999 Georgian Independent Diplomatic Academy - Faculty of International Relations
Graduated with Honor, First degree Diploma, Qualification of a Specialist in Diplomacy – Foreign
Policy

PROFESSIONAL EXPIRIENCE

2020 Member of the Parliament of Georgia; Chair, Committee on EU Integration
2018-2020 Deputy Head of Mission of Georgia to the EU, Minister Plenipotentiary Embassy of Georgia to the Kingdom of Belgium and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
2017-2018 Chargé d\'affaires Embassy of Georgia to Austria, Mission of Georgia to the OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna
2015-2017 Deputy Head of Mission, Minister Plenipotentiary Embassy of Georgia to Austria, Mission of Georgia to the OSCE and other International Organizations in Vienna
2014 - 2015 Deputy Director
Department of European Integration, MFA of Georgia
2010 – 2014 Counselor Embassy of Georgia to the Kingdom of Belgium and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mission of Georgia to the EU
2009 - 2010 Head of the EU-Georgia Relations Unit
Department of the European Integration, MFA of Georgia
2005 - 2009 II secretary Embassy of Georgia to the Benelux Countries and the Mission of Georgia to the EC
2005 I secretary International Law Department, MFA of Georgia
2002- 2005 Teacher at the Georgian Independent Diplomatic Academy
2002 – 2004 II secretary International Law Department, MFA of Georgia
2000 – 2002 Attaché International Law Department, MFA of Georgia
1999-2000 Intern International Law Department, MFA of Georgia

COURSES

The Hague, 2008 Alumni Course on UN Peace Keeping and Peace Building
The Hague, 2004 Netherlands Institute of International Relations “Clingendael”, Course for Junior Diplomats
Tbilisi, 2002 “Capacity Building in International Relations in the South Caucasus” Training in human rights and
negotiations, organized by the Graduate Institute of International Studies, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Georgia and the Georgian Foundation for Security and International Studies (GFSIS)
Washington, 1999 Washington Workshops Foundation’s National Student Leadership seminars, USA. Working issue: The place of the International Organizations in the regulation of international conflicts

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Georgian – native speaker
English, Russian, French, Italian

Date of Birth
• 25 September, 1978

Education
• Tbilisi State University, Georgia - Bachelor and Master of Law (1995-2000)
• University of Dusseldorf, Germany - PhD in Law and LLM (2002-2006)

Professional Career
• Member of the Parliament of Georgia (since 2016)
• Executive Secretary and Member of the Political Council of the Georgian Dream party (since 2015)
• Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Tbilisi State University (since 2017)
• Chairman of the Parliament of Georgia (2016-2019)
• Chairman of the State Constitutional Commission (2016-2017)
• Deputy Campaign Manager of the Georgian Dream party for the parliamentary elections (2016) and Campaign Manager for the municipal (2017) and presidential (2018) elections
• Associate Professor at the Caucasus University (2011-2014)
• Project Expert and Project Manager at the United Nations Development Programme in Georgia (2006-2014)
• Assistant Professor and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Tbilisi State University (2005-2017)
• Regional Coordinator at the USAID public education project (2000-2001)

Membership in the Georgian Parliamentary Delegations
• PACE, Head of Delegation
• Georgia-Moldova-Ukraine PA, Head of Delegation
• OSCE PA, Member
• NATO PA, Member

Languages
• Fluent in Georgian, English, German and Russian

WORK EXPERIENCE

PARLIAMENT OF GEROGIA - Deputy Speaker
Tbilisi, Georgia, 11/2019 – present
Deputy Speaker of Parliament of Georgia, coordinating parliamentary foreign affairs and parliamentary diplomacy activities, along with membership of Committee On European Integration and Foreign Relations Committee. Head of OSCE PA Standing Delegation, Head of the GUAM PA Standing Delegation, Member of Standing Delegations: PACE, EU-Georgia PAC, Euronest, Substitute Member NATO PA. Head of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups: Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Italy, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Japan, United States of America and the UK.

PARLIAMENT OF GEORGIA - Chairman of the Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources
Tbilisi, Georgia, 11/2016 – 11/2019
The main functions of the Committee: preparation of legislative issues, control of state entities accountable to the Parliament, including the Government of Georgia, and, in general, supporting the implementation of the decisions made by the Parliament and oversight their implementation.

JSC GEORGIAN COPPER AND GOLD - General Director/CEO
Tbilisi, Georgia, 11/2015 – 10/2016
Exploration – Mining Company conducting geological works at Bolnisi area, Georgia. Mining and processing operation to exploit gold-bearing secondary quartzites located at the surface within the Bolnisi Ore district. Company is under a process of approving reserves under the National Committee of Reserves and to start mining in August-September 2016.

Independent Member of the Board of Directors JSC GEORGIAN COPPER AND GOLD
Tbilisi, Georgia, 07/2015 – 10/2015
Appointed as an independent member of the board by the charter of new JV – after representing interests of LSE listed company and negotiating a multi-million deal on the most promising mining project in the region.

GEORGIAN INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS - Chairman of the Board
Tbilisi, Georgia, 04/2011 – 10/2016
Non-governmental / non-profitable organization established to promote sound corporate governance and best management/leadership practice in the region. GIOD was founded in 2011 to continue the legacy left after the Corporate Governance Program under IFC has ended. CG evens, seminars for the companies (Tbilisi and other parts of Georgia), long-term and short-term training programs for key management staff are led under the guidance of the Chairman. GIOD is part of the regional network of Central-Eastern Europe and Central-Eastern Asia.

JSC CAUCASUS MINERALS - General Director 
Tbilisi, Georgia, 01/2012 – 10/2015
Junior exploration and mining company Caucasus Minerals (initially JSC Zopkhito Gold) was established to explore antimony-gold deposit in the upper Caucasus region of Georgia. After completing four years of the exploration work program, the company reported reserves by JORC to become the first in last 25 years in Georgia to reach the production stage from greenfield and start mining on gold (Au) and antimony (Sb).

ERISTAVI LAW GROUP - Founding Partner 
Tbilisi, Georgia, 07/2010 – 01/2012
Founding Partner of one of the biggest law firms in Georgia (offices in Tbilisi and Batumi). Local partnership and co-operation agreement were signed between EP and IFC in 2014 to implement Corporate Governance program (training, assessment, consultations) in Georgia. I am mostly working with the biggest clients of the firm and representing our company and clients in relations with the government and international organizations.

Member of the Board INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Tbilisi, Georgia, 05/2011 – 05/2015
ICC represents one of the most prominent international business organizations in the world. Elected as a board member 2 times in a row. At the same time heading Competition Law Commission that was the first to prepare comments on the new draft law in 2013 being part of the new initiative from the government. With the hard work and competitive initiatives of the newly elected board in 2011 – ICC Georgia became one of the biggest business organizations in Georgia to this date.

Legal Advisor / Project Supervisor INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION (IFC)
Tbilisi, Georgia, 02/2007 – 12/2010
The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries, provides advisory service to the private sector in Georgia in legal and financial issues. Representing IFC head office project on Crisis Management and Board Evaluation in the region (Central & Eastern Europe and Central & Eastern Asia).

Company and Commercial Law Expert CHEMONICS INTERNATIONAL INC.
Tbilisi, Georgia, 11/2005 – 02/2007
USAID Business Climate Reform Project, implemented by Chemonics International Inc., provided technical expertise and professional services to Government of Georgia in the company/commercial law, regulatory streamlining and fiscal reform issues, improving the business climate in Georgia.

Head of Law Department
GEORGIA MARITIME TRANSPORT ADMINISTRATION
Batumi, Georgia, 05/2005-11/2005
Being in charge of legal issues, completing reorganization of Administration, changing legal status and structure;

Legal Expert in Company & Commercial Law GEPLAC (Georgian-European Policy and Legal Advice Centre)
Georgia, 10/2004-08/2005
GEPLAC (EU funded project) promoted the political, economical and social convergence of Georgia with the European Union.

Senior Lawyer MKD LAW FIRM
Tbilisi, Georgia, 06/2001-08/2004
One of the leading law firms in Georgia with national and international clients. As a Senior Associate, specialized in corporate law, competition law, contract law, private international law, franchising and etc.

Legal Advisor GEORGIAN RED CROSS SOCIETY
Tbilisi, Georgia, 08/2001-07/2002 and 03/2005-06/2005
Providing legal advice to the President of the Georgian Red Cross Society
• Representing Georgian Red Cross Society (as a Delegate) at the General Assembly Meeting of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland (November 2001);
• Author of new Charter of Georgian Red Cross Society;

Lecturer/Associate Professor
Tbilisi, Georgia, 2007 - Present
Tbilisi State University Caucasus School of Law
GIPA (Georgian Institute of Public Affairs)
New Vision University – lecturing on Corporate Law and Corporate Governance

EDUCATION

Master’s Degree in Corporate Law (LL.M.), Nottingham Law School, England
2002-2003
Graduate Diploma in Law with Honors, Tbilisi State University, Georgia 1996-2001

RESEARCH & PUBLICATIONS

First Post-Legislative Scrutiny in Georgia: Steps Towards Generating Result-oriented Laws Overview of Georgian Competition Legislation on the Background of EC Competition Law Franchising Agreement in Private International Law
Conflict of Interests: best practice and relevant normative acts Corporate Governance in Georgia - Problems and Recommendations Liabilities of Executive Officers World’s best practice Guidelines on Corporate Governance Codes. Member of the Editorial Board of the quarterly journal “Corporate Governance” at International Finance Corporation