Jumber Patiashvili ( ka, ჯუმბერ პატიაშვილი) (born January 5, 1940) is a
Georgian politician. He was the
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
leader of the
Georgian SSR
The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (Georgian SSR; ka, საქართველოს საბჭოთა სოციალისტური რესპუბლიკა, tr; russian: Грузинская Советская Соц� ...
from 1985 to 1989.
Born in
Lagodekhi,
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region ( mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises ...
(eastern Georgia), he graduated from Tbilisi Agricultural Institute. From 1966, he worked for
Komsomol
The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (russian: link=no, Всесоюзный ленинский коммунистический союз молодёжи (ВЛКСМ), ), usually known as Komsomol (; russian: Комсомол, links=n ...
and subsequently from Communist Party. Patiashvili, a nondescript party loyalist, succeeded
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia fo ...
as the First Secretary of the Georgian
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...
in 1985. Under Patiashvili, most of Shevardnadze's initiatives atrophied, and no new policy innovations were undertaken. Patiashvili removed some of Shevardnadze's key appointees, although he could not dismiss his predecessor's many middle-echelon appointees without seriously damaging the party apparatus. By isolating opposition groups, Patiashvili forced reformist leaders into underground organizations and confrontational behavior. By the end of 1988,
Georgian national movement became more active, several manifestations and hunger strikes were organized by the so-called informal political organizations. The protesters were brutally dispersed by the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
troops on April 9, 1989. Following the
April 9 Massacre, the Georgian national liberation movement radicalized and left little chance to a local communist leadership to control the situation in the Republic. Patiashvili was removed from his office and replaced by the former
KGB chief
Givi Gumbaridze
Givi Gumbaridze ( ka, გივი გუმბარიძე; born 22 March 1945) is a former Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1 ...
the same month.
He was elected MP in the
Georgian parliament of 1992-1995. Patiashvili returned to the national politics prior to the 1999 parliamentary elections. He organized an oppositional Unity (ertoba in
Georgian) party joining the oppositional bloc united behind the
Democratic Revival Party led by
Aslan Abashidze
Aslan Abashidze ( ka, ასლან აბაშიძე; born July 20, 1938) is the former leader of the Ajarian Autonomous Republic in western Georgia. He served in this capacity from 18 August 1991 to May 5, 2004. He resigned under the pres ...
, regional leader of
Ajaria, and was elected in the
Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...
. Later, he distanced himself from Abashidze, remaining, however, in opposition to
Eduard Shevardnadze
Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე}, romanized: ; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia fo ...
’s government. His party took part in the oppositionist demonstrations which led to the
Rose Revolution
The Rose Revolution or Revolution of Roses ( ka, ვარდების რევოლუცია, tr) was a nonviolent change of power that occurred in Georgia in November 2003. The event was brought about by widespread protests over the ...
in November 2003. He was elected MP for
Gori district in 2004.
He ran in the
May 2008 Parliamentary election from the
Gori constituency on the Rightist Alliance–Topadze-Industrialists bloc ticket.
List of Majoritarian MP Candidates.
Civil Georgia, April 24, 2008.
References
External links
Parliament.ge: Members of the Parliament of Georgia — Jumber Patiashvili
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patiashvili, Jumber
First Secretaries of the Georgian Communist Party
1940 births
Living people
Members of the Parliament of Georgia
1980s in Georgia (country)
People from Kakheti
20th-century politicians from Georgia (country)
21st-century politicians from Georgia (country)
Recipients of the Order of Lenin