Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia
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| Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia | ||||||
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| Capital | Sukhumi (de jure) Sukhumi (1992-1993) Tbilisi (1993-2006) Chkhalta (2006-2008) Tbilisi (since 2008) |
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| Official languages | Abkhaz, Georgian | |||||
| Government | in exile | |||||
| - | Chairman, Cabinet of Ministers |
Malkhaz Akishbaia |
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| - | Chairman, Supreme Council | Temur Mzhavia | ||||
| de jure Autonomous republic of Georgia | ||||||
| - | Georgian independence from the Soviet Union Declared
Recognised |
9 April 1991 25 December 1991 |
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| Currency | Georgian lari (GEL) |
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The Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia is a government in exile that Georgia recognizes as the legal government of Abkhazia, a region that has been de facto independent of Georgia -- though with very little international recognition -- since the early 1990s. This pro-Georgian government maintained a foothold on Abkhazian territory until it was forced out by fighting in August 2008.
After the War in Abkhazia (1992–1993), Georgia proposed five-party talks involving this government, the Government of the de facto authorities of Abkhazia, the Government of Georgia, along with Russia and the UN as interested parties in order to settle the final status of Abkhazia within the framework of the Georgian state.[1] The Abkhaz side wanted assurances that Georgia would not try to solve the issue by force of arms before being a party to the talks. Between September 2006 and July 2008, this government had been headquartered in Upper Abkhazia but was forced out of all of Abkhazia in August 2008 during the 2008 South Ossetia War by the Military of Abkhazia. Upper Abkhazia is a territory that has population of c. 2,000 (1-1.5% of Abkhazia's post-war population) and is centered on the upper Kodori Valley (roughly 17% of the territory of the former Abkhaz ASSR). This government is also partly responsible for the affairs of some 250,000 IDPs who were forced to leave Abkhazia following the War in Abkhazia and ethnic cleansing that followed.[2][3]
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[edit] History
During the War in Abkhazia, the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia, then called the "Council of Ministers of Abkhazia", left Abkhazia after the Abkhaz separatist forces took control of the region’s capital Sukhumi after heavy fighting on September 27, 1993, leading to the Sukhumi Massacre, in which several members of the Abkhazian government of that time, including its chairman Zhiuli Shartava, were executed by the rebels. The Council of Ministers relocated to Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, where it operated as the Government of Abkhazia in exile for almost 13 years. During this period, the Government of Abkhazia in exile, led by Tamaz Nadareishvili, was known for a hard-line stance towards the Abkhaz problem and frequently voiced their opinion that the solution to the conflict can only be attained through Georgia's military response to secessionism. Later, Nadareishvili's administration was implicated in some internal controversies and had not taken an active part in the politics of Abkhazia until a new chairman, Irakli Alasania, was appointed by President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, his envoy in the peace talks over Abkhazia.
Amid the ongoing Georgian police operation in Abkhazia's Kodori Gorge, in which a local militia, led by the defiant warlord Emzar Kvitsiani, has been largely disarmed, and the constitutional order restored in the area, President Saakashvili announced, on July 27, 2006, that the authorities have decided to establish currently Tbilisi-based Abkhazian government-in-exile in the Kodori Gorge/Upper Abkhazia. "This decision means that for the first time since 1993 the government enters into the midst of Abkhazia, of our Abkhazia, to exercise Georgian jurisdiction and the Georgian constitutional order. This is very important fact and very fundamental political event," Saakashvili said in his televised address to the nation.[4]
Malkhaz Akishbaia, elected in April 2006, is the current head of this government in exile.
During the 2008 War in Ossetia, the Republic of Abkhazia joined forces with the Ossetians and opened a second front against Georgia. During the Battle of the Kodori Valley Abkhazian forces loyal to the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia pushed the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia out of the region of Abkhazia. “the jurisdiction of the Abkhaz state has been restored in the upper Kodori Gorge.” Sergei Bagapsh, President of the Government of the Republic of Abkhazia said in an address to the Abkhazian people.[5]
[edit] Heads of the Government
| Abkhazia |
 This article is part of the series: |
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Republic of Abkhazia
Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia |
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Other countries · Atlas Politics portal |
- Tamaz Nadareishvili, September 1993 – March 16, 2004
- Londer Tsaava, March 16, 2004 – September 30, 2004
- Irakli Alasania, September 30, 2004 – April 24, 2006
- Malkhaz Akishbaia, April 24, 2006 – June 11, 2009
- Giorgi Baramia, June 11, 2009 - present
[edit] Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
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| Chairman of Cabinet of Ministers | Giorgi Baramia | June 2009 | |
| Chairman of the Supreme Council | Temur Mzhavia | Abkhazeti | June 2006 |
| Deputy of Supreme Council | Ada Marshania | Abkhazeti | June 2006 |
[edit] References
- ^ The Resolution of the Parliament of Georgia on the measures of conflict settlement in Abkhazia
- ^ Birgitte Refslund Sørensen, Marc Vincent (2001), Caught Between Borders: Response Strategies of the Internally Displaced, pp. 234-5. Pluto Press, ISBN 0745318185.
- ^ On Ruins of Empire: Ethnicity and Nationalism in the Former Soviet Union Georgiy I. Mirsky, p. 72
- ^ Tbilisi-Based Abkhaz Government Moves to Kodori, Civil Georgia, July 27 2006. URL accessed on 2007-07-28.
- ^ Sergei Bagapsh announces restoration of control over Kodori Gorge
[edit] External links
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