Giorgi Margvelashvili (right) and his newly appointed foreign policy adviser Vano Matchavariani (left), November 4, 2013. Photo: Margvelashvili’s press office

President Margvelashvili appointed on November 21 Vano Matchavariani as his foreign policy adviser.

Matchavariani, who is brother of UNM lawmaker and party’s acting secretary general Mikheil Matchavariani, was Georgia’s first ambassador to Japan in 2007-2009; he served as deputy CEO of the Partnership Fund in 2011-2012.

Matchavariani, who reads lectures at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) in which Margvelashvili was a rector, advised Margvelashvili on foreign policy issues during his presidential campaign.

On November 18, Margvelashvili appointed Lasha Abashidze as chief of president’s administration. Abashidze was Margvelashvili’s election campaign fund manager and was in charge of finances. Abashidze, who holds MA in public administration from GIPA, served as chief of operations at the state-owned Georgian Railway in 2007-2010.