Koba Davitashvili ( ka, კობა დავითაშვილი; 31 July 1971 – 2 December 2020) was a Georgian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, a member of

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 elected through fully pr ...

and

Tbilisi City Assembly The Tbilisi Sakrebulo ( ka, თბილისის საკრებულო, tr), is a representative body in the city government of Tbilisi, Georgia. It is also known in English as the Tbilisi City Council or Tbilisi Assembly. Histo ...

and a founder of the Georgian People's Party.

Early life and career

Davitashvili was born 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 ( ...

on July 31, 1971. After finishing the school he graduated

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი, tr; often shorten ...

with degree in

International law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

. In 1993 he took part in

War in Abkhazia War in Abkhazia may refer to: *War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) The War in Abkhazia was fought between Georgian government and paramilitary forces, and a coalition of Abkhaz separatist forces and North Caucasian militants between 1992 and 1993 ...

and served as a head of artillery unit. In 90’s Davitashvili served in several governmental positions and also practiced jurisprudence. In 1998–1999 he was a member of Tbilisi City Assembly and worked as head of Department of Human Rights. Davitashvili was married and had five children.

Political career

After meeting

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 ...

he served as one of the main figures in newly founded

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 ...

and was actively campaigning against president

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 ...

. He didn't take active part in 2003 Georgian demonstrations because of the tensions that aroused between him and Saakashvili. However, he remained a member of Saakashvili's party until the end of

2004 Adjara crisis The Adjara crisis (), also known as the Adjarian Revolution or the Second Rose Revolution, was a political crisis in Georgia's Adjaran Autonomous Republic, then led by Aslan Abashidze, who refused to obey the central authorities after President E ...

during which he was severely beaten by Abashidze's supporters. Davitashvili was elected as a member of

and shortly after end of elections left the UNM along with

Conservative Party of Georgia The Conservative Party of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს კონსერვატიული პარტია, tr, SKP) is a political party, active in Georgia since 2001. Under its acting chairman Zviad Dzidziguri, the p ...

. After moving to the opposition, he started active campaigning against President Saakashvili and at a certain point publicly accused him of cheating on his wife. Davitashvili left his seat in

to take part in local elections to join Tbilisi City Assembly. Shortly after finishing of the elections, footage was released which allegedly showing Davitashvili taking bribe and selling seats in his party. Davitashvili denied the accusations and stated that footage was falsified by the government. Shortly after the scandal broke, he left the Conservative Party and founded Peoples party. The same day 2007 demonstrations in Tbilisi were dispersed by riot police, Davitashvili was severely beaten reportedly by the members of governmental forces.HRW report on riot disperse in Tbilisi
/ref> After the beating, he was kidnapped and taken to Gori Military Hospital by the same people he was beaten by. Because of his disappearance and fact that his relatives weren't allowed to visit him, rumors emerged that Davitashvili was killed. However, on the next day he held a press conference and accused Saakashvilis government of targeting him. The incident was not investigated. Davitashvili was an active member of Georgian opposition. He called Georgian opposition parties for unification against Saakashvili.

External links

Koba Davitashvili
—

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davitashvili, Koba 1971 births 2020 deaths Politicians from Tbilisi United National Movement (Georgia) politicians