Devi Chankotadze ( Georgian: დევი ჭანკოტაძე, born on September 1, 1961) is a Georgian military leader and politician who served as Georgia's Chief of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces in 2008–2012, and has served as a member of the

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. He carries the rank of

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. Starting his military career during the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, he joined a volunteer militia based in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

in 1990 as Soviet forces began to disintegrate, before becoming a member of the newly formed

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

. With several conflicts ravaging Georgia in the early 1990s, he became head of the National Guard's Artillery Regiment and took part in the wars in

South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...

and

Abkhazia Abkhazia, officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a List of states with limited recognition, partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, at the intersection of Eastern Europe and West Asia. It cover ...

and the

civil conflict The Civil Conflict (sometimes styled as the conFLiCT) was the name given by former UConn Huskies football head coach Bob Diaco to Connecticut's annual matchup against the UCF Knights football team of the University of Central Florida. The team ...

that opposed ousted president

Zviad Gamsakhurdia Zviad Konstantines dze Gamsakhurdia ( ka, ზვიად კონსტანტინეს ძე გამსახურდია; ; 31 March 1939 – 31 December 1993) was a Georgian politician, human rights activist, dissident, profes ...

and

Eduard Shevardnadze Eduard Ambrosis dze Shevardnadze ( ka, ედუარდ ამბროსის ძე შევარდნაძე; 25 January 1928 – 7 July 2014) was a Soviet and Georgian politician and diplomat who governed Georgia (country), Georgi ...

. In 2000, he became First Deputy Chief of Staff and served while Georgia took part in the US-led invasion of Iraq and during the

Pankisi Gorge crisis The Pankisi Gorge crisis was a geopolitical dispute between Russia and Georgia concerning the presence of armed Chechen separatists and jihadists in Georgia, that peaked in 2002. At the centre of the crisis was a contingent of Chechen separa ...

. After a brief departure from service, Chankotadze returned to the military in 2007 and served as the Land Forces' Artillery Brigade Commander during the 2008 Russo-Georgia War. Distinguished for his leadership during the

Battle of Tskhinvali The Battle of Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალის ბრძოლა; ) was a fight for the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of South Ossetia. It was the only major battle in the Russo-Georgian War. Georgia ...

, Chankotadze was appointed as Chief of the Joint Staff later that same year, serving until 2012. Under his leadership, Georgia sent a large contingent to participate in the NATO-led

ISAF The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

mission in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, launched several reforms to address the shortcomings of the war, and increased international cooperation in military education. In 2009, Lieutenant General Chankotadze took part in the response to the Mukhrovani Base mutiny. Retiring in 2013, Chankotadze reappeared in the public eye as a critique of the

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 ...

government in 2018. In 2020, he was elected to Parliament on the

United National Movement United National Movement (UNM; ka, ერთიანი ნაციონალური მოძრაობა, tr) also colloquially known as the Natsebi is a liberal conservative political party in Georgia. Tina Bokuchava serves as the p ...

's electoral list, making him the second former Chief of Staff to serve in the 10th Convocation of Parliament (the other being

Vladimer Chachibaia Vladimer Chachibaia ( ka, ვლადიმერ ჩაჩიბაია) (born 4 November 1971) is a Georgian lieutenant general and politician who has served as Chief of Georgian Defense Forces from 20 December 2018 to 1 July 2020 and memb ...

Early life and education

Devi Chankotadze was born on September 1, 1961, in Gori, a town in then-

Soviet Georgia The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Soviet Georgia, the Georgian SSR, or simply Georgia, was one of the republics of the Soviet Union from its second occupation (by the Red Army) in 1921 to its independence in 1991. Cotermin ...

. His father Vakhtang was a scientist. From 1978 to 1982, he was trained at the Tbilisi Artillery School, graduating in Artillery Armament Tactical Command. He has also received high-command courses from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

People's Liberation Army National Defence University The National Defense University is a national public collegiate military university headquartered in Haidian, Beijing, China, with constituent and affiliated military academies nationwide. Established in 1985 by a military order of Deng Xi ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in 2001. Chankotadze speaks Georgian,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

fluently, while his lack of higher education has been the subject of criticism by political commentators.

Military career

Soviet era and national independence

Devi Chankotadze served in the Soviet military from 1982, serving until 1989 as Platoon Commander based in the Kharabovsk District. As national militias began to replace the disintegrating Soviet military, Chankotadze became Commander of the Tbilisi battalion of the ''Shevardeni'' company, a paramilitary organization that notably remained neutral in the internal conflicts that opposed groups backing

and radical anti-Soviet groups. With the creation of the

shortly before independence in 1991, Shevardeni was integrated into the national forces and Chankotadze became a member of the National Guard. In March 1991, he was appointed as chief of staff to the 11th Battalion of Gori, a key armed formation in the midst of the First South Ossetian War, and kept that position through the coup d'état that overthrew President Gamsakhurdia. In March 1992, Devi Chankotadze was made head of the National Guard's Artillery Regiment as the country was now led by

. While war came to an end in

in June, a new armed conflict began in Abkhazia in August that would last for more than a year, until the fall of Georgian forces at the hands of Russia-backed separatists in September 1993. This conflict was immediately followed by an armed rebellion in the western Georgian region of

Samegrelo Mingrelia or Samegrelo ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr ; ) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelians, a subgroup of Georgians. Geography and climate Mingre ...

, where ousted leader Gamsakhurdia had been challenging the central government. This armed rebellion ended with the death of Gamsakhurdia on December 31, 1993. Chankotadze remained head of the Artillery Regiment until April 1994.

Integration with the Ministry of Defense

From April 1994 to April 1995, Devi Chankotadze served as Chief of Staff of the Main Division of the National Guard at a time when the armed forces were being reorganized within the

Georgian Armed Forces The Defence Forces of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს თავდაცვის ძალები, tr), or Georgian Defence Forces (GDF), are the combined military forces of Georgia, tasked with the defence of the nation's indep ...

after a series of armed conflicts in the years that followed independence. Commander of the First Artillery Brigade until December 1995, he was then made Commander of the Artillery Brigade of the Reserve of the High Command, a position he held until January 1999. That year, he was promoted to the rank of Major General and became Commander of the Georgian Artillery, as Georgia participated in the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

-led

Kosovo Force The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO-led international NATO peacekeeping, peacekeeping force and military of Kosovo. KFOR is the third security responder, after the Kosovo Police and the EU Rule of Law (European ...

. In 2000, Major General Chankotadze became First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces. It was under his term that Georgia launched its participation in the

Iraq war The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, as well as a limited military presence in Afghanistan as part of the war on terror. In May 2002, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

began its

Georgia Train and Equip Program Georgia joined the Iraq war as part of the United States-led coalition in August 2003. By 2008, Georgia had deployed 2,300 troops in Iraq, becoming the third largest contributor to the coalition forces in the Iraq War. In addition, the country p ...

, aimed at increasing Georgian troop readiness, while helping Georgian forces restore order during the

. In March–August 2004, after the new government of

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili (born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from 25 January 2004 to 17 November 2013. He is the founder and former chair ...

started changing the country's military top brass, he briefly served as the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

's representative at the Military Cooperation Coordination Staff of the CIS, followed by a stint as Military Representative of the MoD's Defense Policy and Euro-Atlantic Integration Department's Defense Attachés Office at the CIS Staff. In November, he would be appointed as Georgia's Defense Attaché to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. He was dismissed from the Georgian Armed Forces on October 25, 2005.

2008 Russo-Georgian War

In October 2007, Devi Chankotadze was reintegrated into the military and appointed Artillery Brigade Commander in the

Georgian Land Forces The Georgian Land Forces ( ka, საქართველოს სახმელეთო ძალები) are the land force component of the Defense Forces of Georgia. They are the largest branch of the military and constitute the bulk o ...

. He maintained that post during the 2008 Russo-Georgia War, which began on August 7 as Georgian artillery launched an assault on separatist South Ossetia's capital

Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...

in response to Russian-backed bombing campaigns against Georgian villages. The Ministry of Defense of Georgia would later say in a statement to Russian daily ''

Kommersant (, , ''The Businessman'' or Commerce Man, often shortened to Ъ) is a nationally distributed daily newspaper published in Russia mostly devoted to politics and business. The TNS Media and NRS Russia certified July 2013 circulation of the daily ...

'' that he was the military commander "to have best distinguished himself during the hostilities." During the war, he led artillery forces in Tskhinvali and on the road leading to the

Roki Tunnel The Roki Tunnel (also called Roksky Tunnel, ka, როკის გვირაბი; ; ) is a mountain tunnel of the Transkam road through the Greater Caucasus Mountains, north of the village Upper Roka. It is the only road joining North Osset ...

, destroying several Russian columns of tanks coming to reinforce separatist positions. His forces also engaged in combat operations in Gori and other parts of the country to repel Russian forces, before the August 16 ceasefire agreement brought to an end open hostilities. After President Saakashvili ordered a major army reshuffle to address the shortcomings encountered during the war, Chankotadze was made Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff to replace Alexandre Osepaishvili, while Vakhtang Maisuradze took over as Artillery Brigade Commander. During this time, the Ministry of Defense focused mainly on the reconstruction of Georgian armed forces.

As Chief of the Joint Staff

On March 4, 2009, Chankotadze was appointed Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces, replacing the resigning

, who allegedly left the post to protest Deputy Defense Minister

Bacho Akhalaia Bachana "Bacho" Akhalaia ( ka, ბაჩანა "ბაჩო" ახალაია; born October 24, 1980, in Zugdidi) is a Georgian politician who was Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia from July 4, 2012, to September 20, 2012. He had p ...

's interference in the armed forces' work. As the new commander-in-chief of Georgian forces, he had the task of reorganizing the military after the devastating Russo-Georgian war, while facing depleted resources and a decrease in international arms procurement. On May 5, 2009, a group of soldiers under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Mamuka Gorgiashvili

mutinied Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, bu ...

at the Mukhrovani military base in what authorities would later describe as an attempt to disrupt

-led international exercises set to begin the day after. The mutiny was suppressed within the same day after a joint operation by the MoD and

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

. Nonetheless, Devi Chankotadze implemented a series of reforms aimed at integration Georgia's armed forces to NATO standards. For that matter, he led a series of domestic and international military exercises, including the national Shield 2009 and Cooperative-Longbow 2009. He also opened a new military base in the country, while seeking to boost international cooperation, especially with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and the

, seeking cooperation in military education with the latter states. In March 2012, he invited his Armenian counterpart, Colonel General

Yuri Khatchaturov Yuri Grigorii Khachaturov (; born 1 May 1952) is an Armenian general. He formerly served as the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia (2008–2016 ...

to visit Georgia. Chankotadze's term in office was characterized by Georgia joining NATO coalition forces in Afghanistan and sending a 173-strong company to fight under French command in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Camp Warehouse Camp Warehouse was a International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021). It was located 10 km east of Kabul, Kabul Province in Afghanistan. Initially constructed by German soldiers, Camp Warehouse wa ...

, mainly used to train the Afghan military. The Georgian contingent grew to 1,571 soldiers by October 2012 and was deployed to the high-risk

Helmand province Helmand (Pashto language, Pashto/Dari language, Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering ...

in southern

, serving alongside the

United States Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expedi ...

. This was in addition to artillery instructions serving in

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

in 2011-2012 and liaison officers attached to the Turkish staff in Kabul in 2010–2011. All Georgian troops participating in ISAF had been trained at the Krtsanisi National Training Centre and the Hohenfels Joint Multinational Readiness Center of Germany by US forces since 2009. By the end of Chankotadze's leadership, Georgia had become the largest per-capita contributor to the ISAF mission, retaining that status until the end of the Western mission in 2021. 17 Georgian soldiers died in the fighting while Chankotadze served as commander-in-chief. The opposition to President Saakashvili routinely criticized Chankotadze's term for the perceived influence of Bacho Akhalaia, who was appointed as Minister of Defense in 2009 and was seen as the real decision-maker in armed forces decisions. On October 8, 2012, Saakashvili replaced Chankotadze with his deputy,

Giorgi Kalandadze Giorgi Kalandadze ( ka, გიორგი კალანდაძე) (born June 24, 1980) is a retired Georgian Brigadier General who was the Chief of Joint Staff of the Georgian Armed Forces from October 8, 2012 to November 11, 2012. Caree ...

. Chankotadze retired from the military on April 11, 2013, and received an honorary promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Political career

Political activism

After several years in retirement, Devi Chankotadze resurfaced in the public view during the 2018 presidential election, recording a video in uniform along with other retired officers from the Mukhatgverdi Brothers' Cemetery, calling on people to vote against

Salome Zourabichvili Salomé Nino Zourabichvili (born 18March 1952) is a French-born Georgian politician, former diplomat, and the fifth president of Georgia – the first female to be elected as president in the country's history. As a result of the constitutiona ...

, the

-backed candidate who had made controversial remarks over Georgia's share of the blame of the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. At the time, the Ministry of Defense and the State Service for Veterans Affairs condemned the statement, calling on armed forces and retired officers to not interfere in the electoral processes. Zourabichvili would win the presidency. Around the same time, he also blasted the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

for making comments about the potential subpoena of active duty officers by the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

over its war-related case.

Opposition lawmaker

Devi Chankotadze joined the

, an opposition party affiliated with former president Mikheil Saakashvili, ahead of the 2020 parliamentary elections. In that race, he was at first considered as a potential nominee for the Parliament Majoritarian District of

Tsqaltubo Tskaltubo or Tsqaltubo ( ka, წყალტუბო ) is a spa resort in west-central Georgia. It is the main town of the Tsqaltubo Municipality of the Imereti province. It is known for its radon-carbonate mineral springs, whose natural temp ...

Samtredia Samtredia ( ka, სამტრედია ) is a town in Imereti, Georgia (country), Georgia, lying in a lowland between the rivers Rioni River, Rioni and Tskhenis-Tsqali, west of the capital Tbilisi, and west of Georgia's third largest city K ...

Vani Vani ( ka, ვანი ) is a town in Imereti region of a western Georgia (country), Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town, with a population of 3,744 as of 201 ...

Khoni Khoni ( ka, ხონი ) is a town in the Western Georgia (country), Georgian region (mkhare) of Imereti with a population of 7,756 as of January 2024. It is situated on the left bank of the Tskhenistsqali, Tskhenistsqali River in the north-we ...

, although UNM eventually nominated TV anchor Nanuka Zhorzholiani as a candidate, while Chankotadze appeared as 6th on the party's electoral list. During the campaign, the ruling Georgian Dream accused him of conspiring with MP

Nika Melia Nikanor "Nika" Melia ( ka, ნიკანორ „ნიკა“ მელია; born 21 December 1979) is a Georgian politician, former chairman of the United National Movement party and former member of Parliament of Georgia. He was a memb ...

and former UNM government official

Dimitri Shashkini Dimitri Shashkini ( ka, დიმიტრი შაშკინი, ) (born 8 August 1975) is a Georgian politician of Russian descent, serving as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 4 July 2012 to 25 October 2012. Early years Shashkini wa ...

to lead provocateurs with "batons and electric shocks" ahead of the polls, allegations that have not been backed by evidence. As massive electoral fraud allegations surfaced, the State Security Service announced opening an investigation on allegations by Georgian Dream MP

Irakli Kobakhidze Irakli Kobakhidze ( ka, ირაკლი კობახიძე; born 25 September 1978) is a Georgian politician who haa been the 16th Prime Minister of Georgia, prime minister of Georgia since 2024 and has been the Georgian Dream#Leadershi ...

that Chankotadze, Shashkini, and former Prime Minister

Vano Merabishvili Ivane "Vano" Merabishvili ( ka, ივანე "ვანო" მერაბიშვილი; born 15 April 1968) is a Georgian politician and 9th Prime Minister of Georgia from 4 July to 25 October 2012. A former NGO activist, he became dir ...

were plotting a coup d'état, an investigation whose status has remained unknown since then. Chankotadze was one of 49 elected MPs to refuse to recognize the results of the 2020 elections and boycotted Parliament for several months, until a short-lived EU-facilitated agreement between GD and the opposition put an end to the boycott. He has since then served on the Defense and Security Committee. As an MP, he has proposed an increase of active duty officers' salaries, which he claims has not increased in a decade. He's also been critical of the Ministry of Defense's low budget on arms procurement. Ahead of the 2021 local elections, he asked NATO Special Representative James Appathurai to ensure a "maximal presence" of foreign observers to watch the polls.

Awards

Civilian awards

Military awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chankotadze, Devi 1961 births Generals of the Defense Forces of Georgia People of the Russo-Georgian War Living people People from Gori, Georgia Foreign recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of St. George's Order of Victory Soviet military personnel