Sozar Subari ( ka, სოზარ სუბარი) (born November 4, 1964) is a Georgian politician, journalist, and

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

activist. He was formerly Georgia's Minister for IDPs, Accommodation and Refugees from 26 July 2014 to 13 June 2018. He served as a Public Defender ( Ombudsman) of Georgia from 2004 to 2009 and Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance from 2012 to 2014. Subari was born as Sozar Subeliani (სოზარ სუბელიანი) in the highland village

Chuberi Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated on the southern slop ...

(

Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated on the southern sl ...

). He studied history at the

Tbilisi State University Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University ( ka, ივანე ჯავახიშვილის სახელობის თბილისის სახელმწიფო უნივერსიტეტი ''Ivane Javaxishvi ...

and theology at the

Tbilisi Theological Academy Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million peo ...

. After a service as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

from 1989 to 1991, he took part in the armed conflict in

Abkhazia Abkhazia, ka, აფხაზეთი, tr, , xmf, აბჟუა, abzhua, or ( or ), officially the Republic of Abkhazia, is a partially recognised state in the South Caucasus, recognised by most countries as part of Georgia, which v ...

in 1993. He was involved with the influential

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

Liberty Institute from 2000 to 2004. He also worked as a journalist, including being a correspondent for

Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transm ...

, and an editor of the

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

-based ''Kavkasioni'' newspaper. Subari was elected as Public Defender of Georgia by 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; of these, 120 are proporti ...

for five years term in 2004. During his tenure, the ombudsman's role in Georgian society increased. Subari emerged as a prominent critic of the

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

government. During the anti-government rally of 2007, he claimed to have been repeatedly beaten by the police, and stated, "Georgia is now the same as

Lukashenko Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko (as transliterated from Russian; also transliterated from Belarusian as Alyaksand(a)r Ryhoravich Lukashenka;, ; rus, Александр Григорьевич Лукашенко, Aleksandr Grigoryevich Luka ...

’s

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

." Later he claimed that the police breakdown was masterminded at a secret meeting of top military and police officials and that Georgia's Interior 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 ...

had ordered police to beat protesters, "mainly in the kidneys and the stomach". On their part, the government officials have accused Subari of "politicizing" the Public Defender’s Office and turning into an opposition politician. Subari's term expired on 16 September, 2009. He was succeeded by

Giorgi Tughushi Giorgi may refer to: * Giorgi (name), a Georgian masculine given name * Giorgi (surname), an Italian surname * Giorgi family, a noble family of the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa See also * Giorgio (disambiguation) * Di Gio ...

, a ruling United National Movement party nominee, who was approved by the parliament in July 2009. Subari himself joined the opposition Alliance for Georgia led by Georgia's former UN envoy,

Irakli Alasania Irakli Alasania ( ka, ირაკლი ალასანია) (born 21 December 1973) is a Georgian politician, soldier and former diplomat who served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He was Georgia's Ambassador to t ...

. In 2012, Subari became a member of the

Georgian Dream Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia ( ka, ქართული ოცნება – დემოკრატიული საქართველო, ''Kartuli ocneba – Demok’rat’iuli Sakartvelo'') is a social democratic political ...

party, founded by the billionaire

Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili ( ka, ბიძინა ივანიშვილი, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili ; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgian politician, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who served as Prime Minist ...

, whose coalition won the 2012 parliamentary election. After this, Subari became Minister of Corrections and Legal Assistance in the

cabinet of Bidzina Ivanishvili Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

on 25 October, 2012, succeeding Giorgi Tughushi, his onetime successor as an ombudsman.Ivanishvili Confirmed as Prime Minister

Civil Georgia ''Civil Georgia'' ( ka, სივილ ჯორჯია) is a Tbilisi-based free daily news website run by Georgian NGO UN Association of Georgia. It is supported by USAID, Friedrich Ebert Foundation and Swiss Agency for Development and C ...

. October 25, 2012. On 2 August 2022, Subari left the Georgian Dream party and co-founded the

People's Power {{Unreferenced, date=August 2007 People's Power (Spanish and Portuguese: Poder Popular) is a common political rallying cry used in party names and slogans. Instances of its use include: * Lok Shakti, a political party in India * National Assembl ...

party.

References

External links

Subari's biography
Public Defender of Georgia website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Subari, Sozar Activists from Georgia (country) Georgian Dream politicians Journalists from Georgia (country) Ombudsmen 1964 births Living people Government ministers of Georgia (country)