WHO'S RUNNING GEORGIA: IT'S THE EKA'S

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TBILISI 002084 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR DAS BRYZA, EUR/CARC, DRL, AND INR E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2017 TAGS: PGOV PINR PHUM GG SUBJECT: WHO'S RUNNING GEORGIA: IT'S THE EKA'S REF: A. TBILISI 2050 ¶B. TBILISI 1604 Classified By: CHARGE D'AFFAIRES MARK X. PERRY. REASONS: 1.4 (B) AND (D). ¶1. (C) Summary: Amid the crowd of young, talented, Western-educated officials in Georgia, one feature often stands out: many of those in key power positions are women. In addition to the prominent role held by the Speaker of Parliament,Nino Burjanadze, one of the founders of the Rose Revolution in 2003 and a moderating force in Parliament (reftel A),Georgia boasts a large number ofwomen in pivotal positions across the Government, including in the power ministries. We offer the following analysis of who these women are and the role they play. End summary. Eka Zguladze: A Force in a Power Ministry -------------- ¶2. (C) Eka Zguladze, twenty-nine years old, became Deputy Minister of Interior (MOIA) in May 2006, replacing Eka Tkeshelashvili who moved to become the Chief of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. The joke between them is that this position at the MOIA is reserved for people named "Eka." Zguladze is a tireless bureaucrat, arriving in the mornings before her very active boss, MOIA Merabishvili, and often finishing work in the wee hours of the following day. She is sharp, and sometimes slightly sharp-edged, knowledgeable and a fierce debater. (Note: This would not be so notable ifshe were male and in fact, would be the norm in Georgian politics. End note.) Eka rarely, if ever, concedes a point. At times, this quality makes her seem rigid in her positions but her fluent English and her strong debating skills make her the Ministry's choice spokesperson on a range of issues. It was she who was sent to the Geneva- style meeting in Bonn on Abkhazia (reftel B) to defend Georgia's position in the Upper Kodori Valley. She also travels regularly to Brussels to participate in meetings on Georgia's desire to join NATO. Zguladze speaks fluent English and is married. Eka Tkeshelashvili: The Brain Behind Judicial Reform -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) Eka Tkeshelashvili, thirty years old, is the Chief of the Tbilisi Court of Appeals. She was a Muskie Fellow to the University of Notre Dame Law School, where she received an L.L.M. in International Human Rights Law. She is smart, capable, and dynamic. Prior to her position at the Ministry of Interior, she was a Deputy Minister of Justice and before that she held a number of positions outside government in the rule of law sector, focusing on human rights issues. While Chair of the Supreme Court Kublashvili is viewed as somewhat of a lightweight, she is the brains behind judicial reform. Like Zguladze, Tkeshelashvili is perhaps too right all the time for some. She is, however, a better diplomat in the sense that she frames her disagreements in polite, legal terms. Tkeshelashvili will readily admit the gaps in judicial reform but has a plan for how to address them and is not afraid to disagree when internationals have ideas that she believes will not work in Georgia. If there was ever a judge who could not be swayed by outside forces, it is Tkeshelashvili. She speaks fluent English and is married and expecting her first child in September. She is planning to take only one month off after the birth. Eka Gigauri: A Can Do Achiever in the Border Police -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) Eka Gigauri, in her late 20s, is the Deputy Chair for Resource Management for the Georgian Border Police. She first came to the Border Police in mid-2004, after a period in the private sector, and within six months was promoted to her current position, replacing a Brigadier General. In her position, Eka has ushered in legislation converting the Border Police from a military to a law enforcement force. She also led the arduous process of replacing the conscript force with contract personnel, coordinating the testing, interviews and training for new hires. She is known to work well and productively with her boss, Badri Bitsadze (also Speaker Burjanadze's husband) despite his reputation of leading with a management style that harks back to Soviet times by being personality rather than organizationally centered. Eka is not, contrary to rumor, the god daughter of Speaker Burjanadze. Eka is unmarried and lives with her parents. Her father held a high level position in the Shevardnadze government in the late 1990s. TBILISI 00002084 002 OF 004 Eka Sharashidze: The Operator in the President's Office -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) Eka Sharashidze, a dual Georgian-American national, is the Chief of Staff to President Saakashvili since this year. She previously worked in the Office of the Prime Minister as an advisor on economic issues and left to work in the Mayor's office after a falling out with the Prime Minister. The President picked her up on his staff and she quickly moved to become Chief of Staff with the departure of Giorgi Arveladze to the Ministry of Economic Development. Educated in the U.S., Eka speaks fluent English. Anna Zhvania: The Respected NGO Figure -------------- ¶6. (C) Anna Zhvania, in her mid-thirties, is the head of the Georgian Counter-Intelligence Service. She came to the position last year trying to fill the large shoes of Batu Kutelia, who was moved to become first a Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and then a Deputy Minister of Defense. It has not been an easy transition. Zhvania moved from being the President's Advisor on Civil Integration -- after a distinguished stint in the NGOsector -- to one of the most machosectors of Georgian society. She is smart, thoughtful and soft-spoken. We have heard she has had trouble with, among other people, her Deputy, who refuses to report to her in any meaningful way. Although Zhvania is someone to watch in futureas she has widespread respect in Georgia for her integrity and principles, she has suffered some recent serious health problems from which she is undergoing medical treatment in Israel. She is married and expecting her first child this fall. She speaks fluent English. Nona Tsotsoria: The Velvet Glove of the Prosecutor's Office -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Nona Tsotsoria, Deputy Prosecutor General, is the behind-the-scenes right hand to a behind-the-scenes Prosecutor General. She is helpful and responsive and has a lot of credibility among Georgian and internationals for her measured and results-oriented approach. In her mid-thirties, Tsotsoria is slightly older than Zguladze and Tkeshelashvili and of a different generation of Georgian women. Being slightly more experienced in dealing with internationals, she is considered by some to be a more favorable interlocutor. She is also more "feminine" in the traditional sense in that she is not overtly outspoken and opinionated. She recently cut short a graduate program in the U.S. at the University of Pennsylvania in order to return to Georgia to take up a position in the near future as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights. Tsotsoria is unmarried. Lali Papiashvili: A Quiet but Effective Operator in Parliament -------------- -------------- ¶8. (C) Lali Papiashvili is a former Chief of Staff to Speaker Burjanadze and currently a party list National Movement MP. At thirty-five, she is also of a slightly older generation of Georgian women in politics and her dress and demeanor reflect her generation. Like the Speaker, she appears to take care with her appearance (and her color coordination and pitch perfect make-up and nails remind many of Burjanadze.) She is composed, polite and articulate and is carefulnot to cause offense. As a result, she is respected for her well-considered and thoughtful views which she articulates with quiet strength of purpose (as well as with the knowledge that she remains an insider to Burjanadze.) Papiashvili was the operator in Parliament whohelped to push through a number of reforms in support of Georgia's anti-trafficking efforts this year, resulting in its movement to Tier 1 on the Trafficking in Persons report for the first time. Papiashvili speaks fluent English and is married with one child. Irina Kurdadze: The Speaker's Right Hand -------------- ¶9. (C) Irina Kurdadze is a the current Chief of Staff to Speaker Burjanadzeand a party list National Movement MP. She is perhaps the most trusted confidante on the Speaker's staff and also the most effective. Like Papiashvili, she is careful to think through issues before articulating a position.She is discreet and does not have a large role outside of theSpeaker's office but she appears to be given the most importanttasks by the Speaker. For example, when the Embassy approachedthe Speaker last year on passing a law banning ex partecommunications, the Speaker assigned the task to Kurdadze. Attimes, one wonders how Kurdadze, who is soft-spoken, does in the rough and tumble of Georgia's feisty Parliamentary debate. It is clear that TBILISI 00002084 003 OF 004 the ex parte legislation was only passed after key Parliamentarian Giga Bokeria -- we are told at the order of President Saakashvili -- decided to putit front and center. Kurdadze speaks passable English and is married with two children. Nino Nakashidze: The Seller of Georgia Abroad -------------- - ¶10. (C) Nino Nakashidze, fifty-one, is the current Deputy Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and, according to Parliamentary sources, the likely next Chair of the European Integration Committee to replace David Bakradze became the State Minister for Conflict Resolution on July 23. Nino is a party list National Movement MP. Brash and opinionated, Nakashidze is one of the older and long-standing female fixtures in Parliament. She travels frequently to Europe to sell Georgia's position abroad. Part of her power comes from her close association to Speaker Burjanadze and key Burjanadze staff members including Irina Kurdadze and Thea Goguadze-Apfel, with whom she is close. She is married and has one child. Maia Nadiradze: The Party Face -------------- ¶11. (C) Maia Nadiradze, forty-six, is the Head of the Majority Faction inParliament. As such, she is the spokesperson for the United National Movement (UNM.) When an issue of importance is decided, Maia offers an explanation. Her reputation is somewhat tarnished by her history of changing parties frequently.For example, she was in the past a supporter of former President Gamsakhurdia and then became a leader of the traditionalists and finally a prominent member ofthe UNM. She is married with two children. Helen Khoshtaria: The Fighter for Georgia in NATO -------------- -------------- ¶12. (C) Khoshtaria is a Deputy Minister in the Ministry for Euro-Atlantic Integration, focusing on NATO issues. Her intellectual capacity, hard work ethnic,and ability to coordinate efforts on the myriad reforms linked to NATO integration have been crucial in advancing Georgia's NATO bid. She has excellent relations with NATO staff, the international community, and the Georgian defense and foreign affairsministries linked to NATO reform implementation. Khoshtaria moved to the Euro-Atlantic Affairs Ministry from the MOIA where she worked as a staff assistant to Minister Baramidze -- then Minister of Internal Affairs and now Ministerfor Euro-Atlantic Integration. Khoshtaria is also a close friend of Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, Eka Zguladze. Recently turned thirty, Khoshtaria is a rising star, and is unmarried. She speaks fluent English and is a graduate of the prestigious Moscow State Diplomatic University. Tina Khidasheli: The Opposition Voice -------------- ¶13. (C) Tina Khidasheli, in her late-thirties, is a prominent member of the opposition Republican Party. She is a former head of the Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA),a respected local NGO. She is a member of the "Class of 1995" at Tbilisi State University,which included, among others, prominent Georgians such as Georgian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Irakli Alasania, Chief of the Supreme Court Kublashvili, and formerDefense Minister Irakli Okruashvili. There is no love lost between her and Okruashvili,although she is a well known voice and face of the opposition.Khidasheli is smart and personable. Some believe she talkstoo much and at times overwhelms her interlocutors with relentless and unbending (and at times, unbalanced) positions on issues. She is married to David Usupashvili, the Chair of the Republican Party. They have one child. Comment -------------- ¶14. (C) From our view, the twelve women listed above are the women to watch for in the future of Georgian politics. Remarkably, they manage the blood sport of Georgian politics (and the nuances of Georgian society, which remains largely patriarchal and male-dominated),in their own way, but to a person, effectively help produce the reform results that mark the Saakashvili administration. We also note that almost all of them, like so many key people in the Saakashvili government, has been trained in Western Europe or the United States. End comment. TBILISI 00002084 004 OF 004 PERRY