Lyudvig Alekseyevich Chibirov ( ''Tseberte Alêksêye fert Lyudvig'', ka, ლუდვიგ ჩიბიროვი, ; born 19 November 1932) was the Chairman of the Parliament and later, following

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

elections the first president of

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 ...

. Born in 1932, Chibirov is a former member of the South Ossetian Parliament. Prior to the elections in 1996, he had been South Ossetia's head of state since 1993. When the post of Chairman of the Parliament was abolished in favor of the presidency, Chibirov became the first occupant of the new office. During the 1996 elections, he received 65% of the vote compared with former Prime Minister Vladislav Gabaraev, who advocates South Ossetia's secession from the

Republic of Georgia A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a state in which political power rests with the public (people), typically through their representatives—in contrast to a monarchy. Although a ...

and its unification with

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

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 ...

, won about 20%. Georgian 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 ...

blasted the elections calling them "unlawful." In the next elections in 2001, the 69-year-old Chibirov received less than 20% of the votes, while

Stanislav Kochiev Stanislav Jakovlevich Kochiev (, ka, სტანისლავ კოჩიევი, tr, ; born 7 April 1954) is a South Ossetian politician, who is a former presidential candidate and former chairman (speaker) of the Parliament of South Osseti ...

came in second with 25%, and the 38-year-old

Eduard Kokoity Eduard Dzhabeyevich Kokoyty (; born 31 October 1964) is an Ossetian politician who served as the second president of South Ossetia of the partially recognized state of South Ossetia from 2001 to 2011. Early life Eduard Kokoyty was born in Tsk ...

(Kokoyev) won with more than 48% of the vote.

References

, - , - 1932 births Living people Presidents of South Ossetia People from Tskhinvali Members of the Parliament of South Ossetia Recipients of the Order of Friendship (South Ossetia) {{SouthOssetia-stub