Davit Khajishvili ( Georgian: დავით ხაჯიშვილი; born 10 February 1988) is a Georgian businessman and politician who has served as a member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

since 2020. A member of the opposition United National Movement, he has been characterized as a vocal supporter of

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

since the Russian invasion of 2022.

Early life and career

Davit Khajishvili was born on 10 February 1988. Moving to Ukraine as a student, he received a tourism degree from the Ternopil Volodymyr Hnatiuk National Pedagogical University in 2011, after which he returned to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and worked in the public sector, including in the Department of Tourism and Resorts of the

Autonomous Republic of Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

, the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs of Adjara, and the City Hall of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ), historically Batum or Batoum, is the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), second-largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast ...

until 2014. He was noticed as an activist during that time, participating in a public protest in Batumi against Ukrainian President

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych (born 9 July 1950) is a Ukrainian politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 to 2014. He also served as the prime minister of Ukraine several times between 2002 and 2007 and was a member of t ...

's decision to reject the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. He received a degree in International Relations in 2015 from Ukraine's

University of Lviv The Ivan Franko National University of Lviv (named after Ivan Franko, ) is a state-sponsored university in Lviv, Ukraine. Since 1940 the university is named after Ukrainian poet Ivan Franko. The university is the oldest institution of highe ...

. Between 2015 and 2020, Khajishvili worked as the Rergional Director of ORBI Group, a large Georgian real estate developer responsible for several luxury projects in Batumi. He is married to Tamar Ninidze, another employee of that company.

Political career

One of the largest financial contributors to the opposition United National Movement, Davit Khajishvili was listed in 22nd position on the party's electoral list during the 2020 parliamentary elections, although he originally refused to take his seat after allegations surfaced on massive voter fraud committed by the government. Following a short-lived EU-facilitated agreement between the opposition and the ruling

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia (GD), also colloquially known as the Kotsebi, is a Conservatism, conservative and populism, populist List of political parties in Georgia (country), political party in Georgia (country), Georgia, which has ...

party, he rescinded his resignation in May 2021 and has since served on the European Integration Committee. He is one of the youngest MPs in Georgia. Khajishvili has been a vocal supporter of

since the Russian invasion started in February 2022. On 28 February, he was a signatory to a petition calling on

to invite Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Dolhov to an extraordinary hearing. On 24 March, he visited

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

along UNM's parliamentary leader Khatia Dekanoidze to show solidarity for Ukraine, attending a session of the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada ( ; VR), officially the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, is the unicameralism, unicameral parliament of Ukraine. It consists of 450 Deputy (legislator), deputies presided over by a speaker. The Verkhovna Rada meets in the Verkhovn ...

and meeting with President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (born 25 January 1978) is a Ukrainian politician and former entertainer who has served as the sixth and current president of Ukraine since 2019. He took office five years after the start of the Russo-Ukraini ...

's head of administration

Andrii Yermak Andriy Borysovych Yermak (; born 21 November 1971)
1 ...

. He was also one of 48 MPs to sign a joint appeal to Georgian Dream calling on the party to end its attacks on some Western officials.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khajishvili, Davit 1988 births University of Lviv alumni Living people 21st-century politicians from Georgia (country)