Temur Yakobashvili ( ka, თემურ იაკობაშვილი, also transliterated as Temur Iakobashvili) (born 3 September 1967) is a Georgian political scientist, diplomat, and politician, serving as State Minister for Reintegration since 2008; he was named Deputy Prime Minister in 2009. On 20 November 2010 his nomination as Ambassador to the United States was announced. After change of government in Georgia he resigned on 8 November 2013.

Personal life

Yakobashvili was born into a Georgian Jewish family 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 ( ...

. He graduated from the Department of Physics at

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

in 1984. He attended diplomatic courses at the universities of

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

(1998), the Yale University World Fellows Program (2002), and the Harvard University

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

(2003). He is married to Yana Fremer and has two children, Giorgi Fremer and Miriam Yakobashvili. He speaks Georgian, Russian, Hebrew, and English.Temuri Yakobashvili – Biography
. ''The Government of Georgia''. Retrieved on November 15, 2010.

Professional career

From 1990 to 2001, he worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, where he last served as the director of the U.S., Canada and Latin America Department. He is a co-founder of, and from 2001 to 2008 was executive vice-president of, the

Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies The Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies also known as Rondeli Foundation (GFSIS; ka, საქართველოს სტრატეგიისა და საერთაშორისო ურთიერთო� ...

, the largest think tank in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...

. He is also a co-founder and member of the boards of the Georgian Council on Foreign Relations and th
Atlantic Council of Georgia
and a member of the board of th
Georgian Institute of Public Affairs
He has authored several publications on national security, conflict management, and foreign relations. On 31 January 2008 he was appointed by the

President of Georgia The president of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პრეზიდენტი, tr) is the ceremonial head of state of Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U ...

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 ...

as State Minister of Georgia for Reintegration. He is the architect of Georgia'
strategy of engagement
with the Russian-occupied regions of

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

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 ...

, which aims to "promote interaction among the divided populations of Georgia, currently separated by occupation lines." On 20 November 2010 his nomination as Ambassador to the United States was announced. In February 2012, he was awarded the Presidential Order of Excellence. The victory of the "Georgian dream" at the parliamentary elections in Georgia on 1 October 2012 and the formation of a new government under

Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili (; born 18 February 1956), also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili, is a French-Georgian businessman, politician and billionaire oligarch. He is founder and the leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party and has ruled G ...

on 25 October led to changes of the diplomatic staff. So ambassador Yakobashvili took the consequences and announced his resignation on 8 November. As president

hesitated with approval of new ambassadors, suggested by the new government, it lasted until March 2013 that the successor for Yakobashvili, Archil Gegeshidze, had been appointed.Georgia’s new ambassador to the US
dfwatch, March 20, 2013 (retrieved on April 12, 2013).

References

External links

Georgian Embassy in the U.S.
Ambassadors of Georgia to the United States of America {{DEFAULTSORT:Iakobashvili, Temur 1967 births Living people Diplomats from Tbilisi Jews from Georgia (country) Political scientists from Georgia (country) Government ministers of Georgia (country) Jewish politicians from Georgia (country) Politicians from Tbilisi People of the Russo-Georgian War Academic staff of Uppsala University Ambassadors of Georgia (country) to the United States Alumni of the University of Birmingham Recipients of the Presidential Order of Excellence 20th-century Jews from Georgia (country) 21st-century Jews from Georgia (country)