The Public Chamber of Abkhazia is an advisory body to the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the internationally partially recognised

Republic of Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which vi ...

Creation of the Public Chamber

The Law on the Public Chamber of Abkhazia took effect on January 1, 2007, and the first session of the Public Chamber was opened by President Bagapsh on July 20. The purposes of the Public Chamber are to: *Facilitate public participation in politics *Carry out consultations amongst the public *Formulate recommendations on draft laws *Advise the president on matters of civil society development *Act as a public watchdog over the activities of executive government institutions and freedom of expression in Abkhazia

Composition

The Public Chamber is composed of 35 members drawn from civil society, 13 of whom are nominated by the president, 11 by local administrations; and 11 by political parties and social movements. The Chamber is headed by a

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

, who is currently Natella Akaba. Other members include the rector of the

Abkhazian State University The Abkhazian State University is the only university in Abkhazia. It was founded in 1979 on the basis of the Sukhumi Pedagogical Institute. Its first rector was Zurab Anchabadze. The university consists the departments of physics and mathematic ...

, Aleko Gvaramia; the writers Alexei Gogoi and Daur Nachkebia; and former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Sokrat Jinjolia Sokrat Rachevich Jinjolia ( Abkhaz: Сократ Аџьынџьал, ka, სოკრატ ჯინჯოლია; born 11 December 1937) was the second Prime Minister and the second foreign minister of the internationally unrecognised Republ ...

. On 29 October 2013, Natella Akaba was reelected Secretary, while former Prime Minister

Viacheslav Tsugba Viacheslav Mikhail-ipa Tsugba ( ab, Виачеслав Михаил-иҧа Цыгәба, ka, ვიაჩესლავ ცუგბა; born 1 January 1944) was the third Prime Minister of the Abkhazia, Republic of Abkhazia (a de facto independ ...

and Valeri Ardzinba were elected Deputy Chairmen. On 2 November 2016, Akaba was again reelected as Secretary, and Danil Ubiria and Valeri Ardzinba as deputy secretaries.

References

A Survey of Access to Information in Abkhazia and its Impact on People’s Lives
ARTICLE 19, June 2007.
Общественная палата начинает свою работу
July 19, 2007. Politics of Abkhazia Political organizations based in Abkhazia {{Abkhazia-poli-stub