Manuchar Kvirkvelia (Georgian: მანუჩარ კვირკველია; born on October 12, 1978) is a retired Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler and politician, an Olympic champion and a member of the Parliament of Georgia since 2008.

Early life and family

Manuchar Kvirkvelia was born on October 12, 1978, in

Ozurgeti Ozurgeti ( ka, ოზურგეთი ) is the capital of the western Georgia (country), Georgian province of Guria. It was formerly known as Macharadze or Makharadze (named in honor of Filipp Makharadze). It is a regional center of tea and haze ...

Guria Guria ( ka, გურია) is a region (''mkhare'') in Georgia (country), Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 104,338 (2023), with Ozurgeti as the regional cap ...

, a town in then- Soviet Georgia. He graduated in 2007 from the Vita Training University of

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 ( ...

, receiving a degree in finance. He is married to Inga Shanava and has six children, including three sons and three daughters.

Sports career

Wrestling champion

Manuchar Kvirkvelia started wrestling first in his hometown of Ozurgeti and after being discovered, moved to Tbilisi, where he started practicing

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

. During his student years, he earned his living with wrestling and competed in the Turkish Wrestling Federation. He first appeared on the international mat at the age of 24 at the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

in the lightweight category in

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; , formerly ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Ostrobothnia. Seinäjoki is located in the western interior of the country and along the Seinäjoki (river), River Seinäjoki. The population of Sein ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, where he won the Silver Medal, finishing second to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Şeref Eroğlu Şeref Eroğlu (born 25 November 1975, in Kahramanmaraş) is a Turkish Sport wrestling, wrestler. He won 6 times in Europe (1994-1996-1998-2001-2002-2003) and once in the World (1997). At the 2004 Athens Olympics, he competed at 66 kg and w ...

. That same year, he finished third with the Bronze Medal at the World Wrestling Championship held in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 2003, he participated in the European Championship held in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, where he took 5th place and lost once again to Şeref Eroğlu. However, he won the Gold Medal after winning the World Championship in

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, defeating his old rival Eroğlu and 1996 Polish Olympic champion

Ryszard Wolny Ryszard Marcin Wolny (born 24 March 1969 in Racibórz) is a Polish wrestler and Olympic champion in Greco-Roman wrestling. Olympics Wolny has competed in five Olympics, from 1988 to 2004. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta where ...

. He took part in the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, where he would be disqualified after starting a brawl with Şeref Eroğlu, to whom he lost with a crushing score of 1–11. Manuchar Kvirkvelia moved to the 74 kg category of men's Greco-Roman wrestling in 2004. In that category, he won the Bronze Medal at the World Championship in

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

in 2006 and at that same year's European Championship in Moscow. He won the European Championship held in

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in 2007, winning his second international title, although he would perform poorly at the World Championship in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

later that year, finishing 20th. Kvirkvelia qualified for the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

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 ...

, where he defeated China's Chang Yongxiang to become an Olympic champion and winning the Gold Medal in the 74 km competition, becoming the first Georgian gold medal at that year's Olympic competitions. The games coincided with the

Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

and Kvirkvelia said after his victory: Manuchar Kvirkvelia has been awarded the Medal of Honor by 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 ...

(2003), the Order of Excellence by President

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 ...

(2008), and the Order of Honor by President Giorgi Margvelashvili (2018). He is also a Knight of Sports since 2003.

President of GWF

Manuchar Kvirkvelia was elected as President of the Georgian Wrestling Federation on December 26, 2014, defeating Valery Gelashvili, a member of Parliament endorsed by the governing

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, with 59 to 43 votes. His two-year term ended on December 17, 2016 when he was defeated for reelection by Gega Gegeshidze, a former wrestler and controversial figure who had received the support of Georgian Dream, only receiving 24 votes to Gegeshidze's 46. He remained active in the sports management world after 2016. During the 2020 Georgian Olympic Committee President election, he was one of several former athletes to boycott the election, alleging that the Olympic Committee's bylaws had been rewritten to benefit incumbent Leri Khabelov's reelection. A businessman, his wealth has estimated him to be a millionaire.

Political career

Manuchar Kvirkvelia joined the Progress and Freedom party (P&F), a right-wing party created by businessmen Kakhaber Okriashvili and Tsezar Chocheli ahead of the 2020 parliamentary election. When the party merged with the '' Strength Is in Unity'' electoral bloc led by the United National Movement, he was nominated by the coalition as candidate for the Guria Majoritarian District. He ran against 13 candidates, including incumbent MP Khatuna Gogorishvili ( European Georgia) and GD's Vasil Chigogidze. Kvirkvelia was defeated in the first round, ending second with 22.9%. He won a seat in the

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 ...

nonetheless through the bloc's electoral list, but was one of 49 MPs to refuse to recognize the results and boycotted their seats after allegations of massive voter fraud surfaced. Kvirkvelia joined Parliament in May 2021 after a short-lived EU-facilitated agreement between Georgian Dream and the opposition. Since then, he has served as Deputy Chairman of the Sports and Youth Committee. One of the least active MPs, he's only participated in less than 1% of votes on the floor. He is one of the largest donors of the ''Strength is in Unity'' bloc.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kvirkvelia, Manuchar 1978 births Living people People from Guria Mingrelians Male sport wrestlers from Georgia (country) Olympic gold medalists for Georgia (country) Olympic wrestlers for Georgia (country) Wrestlers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Wrestling Championships medalists Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence