Badra Zurabovich Gunba (; ; born 14 March 1981) is an Abkhazian politician who is the 6th

President of Abkhazia The president of Abkhazia is the '' de facto'' head of state and head of government of the partially recognized Republic of Abkhazia, that is ''de jure'' part of Georgia. The position was created in 1994. Before the office of president was cr ...

. Previously the Vice President of Abkhazia, Gunba ascended to the presidency after the resignation of

Aslan Bzhania Aslan Georgievich Bzhania (; ka, ასლან გიორგის-ძე ბჟანია, tr; ; born 6 April 1964) is an Abkhaz politician who served as the fifth president of Abkhazia from 23 April 2020 until his resignation on 19 Nove ...

. Born in

Sukhumi Sukhumi or Sokhumi is a city in a wide bay on the Black Sea's eastern coast. It is both the Capital city, capital and largest city of Abkhazia, a partially recognised state that most countries consider a part of Georgia (country), Georgia. The ...

while it was part of the

Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic The Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as Abkhaz ASSR, was an autonomous republic of the Soviet Union within the Georgian SSR. It came into existence in February 1931, when the Socialist Soviet Republic of Abkhazia (SSR A ...

, Gunba was educated as an economist at the Saratov State Agrarian University. He became the Deputy Minister of Culture in 2009, and then

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organiza ...

in 2011.

Early life and education

Badra Gunba was born in

, on 14 March 1981. He graduated from the Sokhumi State University in 1998, and became an economics teacher at 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 study language is mainly Russian in the university. The uni ...

. In 2003, he graduated from Saratov State Agrarian University with a degree in accounting and auditing. From December 2003 to August 2004, Gunba worked for the city government of

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

as a specialist in its Department of Social Sphere and Apparatus Financing. He held different positions in the financial department of the city from March 2004 to February 2006. He received a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from Saratov State Agrarian University in 2007.

Abkhazia

From January 2009 to October 2011, Gunba was the Deputy Minister of Culture and then as

from January 2011 to January 2014. He became Vice President of Abkhazia in 2020. President

resigned in November 2024, after protestors seized control of government buildings. Gunda ascended to the presidency and defeated

Adgur Ardzinba Adgur Amiranovich Ardzinba (; ; ka, ადგურ ამირანის ძე არძინბა; born 26 December 1981) is an Abkhazian politician, formerly the Minister for Economy of Abkhazia from 2015 to 2020. Education Ardzinb ...

in the 2025 presidential election. Russian, which cut off electricity to Abkhazia after Bzhania's resignation, conducted election interference through

Sergey Kiriyenko Sergey Vladilenovich Kiriyenko (''né'' ''Izraitel''; ; born 26 July 1962) is a Russian politician who has served as First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia since 5 October 2016. He previously served as the 30th ...

. Gunba appointed

Vladimir Delba Vladimir Valerevich Delba is a politician from Abkhazia, who serves as Prime Minister of Abkhazia since 3 April 2025, being first appointed by Badra Gunba as acting Prime Minister on 3 March 2025. He also served Finance Minister and Vice Premier ...

as prime minister on 3 March 2025.

Personal life

Gunba has two children with his wife.

References

Works cited

News

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Web

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunba, Badra Living people Presidents of Abkhazia Vice presidents of Abkhazia Ministers for culture of Abkhazia 1982 births Saratov State Agrarian University alumni