PM Irakli Garibashvili (center) announces some of the new ministerial nominations on July 22. From left to right: Elguja Khokrishvili, ex-minister of infrastructure and nominee for environment minister; Sozar Subari, ex-prison system minister and nominee for the minister of IDPs; Otar Danelia, nominee for minister of agriculture; PM Garibashvili; Gela Dumbadze, nominee for state minister of diaspora; Giorgi Mgebrishvili, nominee for minister for prison system; Davit Shavliashvili, nominee for infrastructure minister. Photo: PM’s office

PM Irakli Garibashvili announced on Tuesday evening nominees for several ministerial posts, which became vacant as a result of cabinet reshuffle, but was not yet able to name a candidate for culture minister, citing still ongoing consultations.

Giorgi Mgebrishvili, governor of Kvemo Kartli region, has been nominated as minister in charge of penitentiary system, replacing Sozar Subari, who has been named for the post of the minister for internally displaced persons and accommodation.

Otar Danelia, first deputy minister of agriculture, has been named for the post of agriculture minister, replacing Shalva Pipia.

Davit Shavliashvili, head of the department of roads, has been nominated for the minister of infrastructure, replacing Elguja Khokrishvili, who is slated to become minster of environment protection.

Gela Dumbadze, deputy state minister for diaspora, will be promoted to post of the state minister for diaspora, replacing Konstantine Surguladze.

PM Garibashvili said that consultation were still ongoing about who would replace Guram Odisharia on the post of the culture minister; he said the decision would be announced either later on Tuesday or on Wednesday morning.

Giorgi Mgebrishvili, nominee for prison system minister, has served as governor of Kvemo Kartli region since December, 2013. He served as an investigator in the Interior Ministry in 1998-2004 and then was an investigator in the financial police at the Ministry of Finance till 2007. He served at various positions in the Revenue Service at the Ministry of Finance in 2007-2012 before being promoted as head of the customs department at the Revenue Service in November, 2012. He was head of the Interior Ministry’s state security agency for couple of months till November, 2013.

“This is a principled person,” PM Garibashvili said of Mgebrishvili. “We are putting him in charge of a very difficult sphere and I am sure that he will contribute new energy in this ministry and will continue reforms, which were launched by Sozar [Subari].”

Nominee for infrastructure minister Davit Shavliashvili served as head of the department of roads at the same ministry since April, 2013 and before that was head of the natural resources agency at the ministry of energy, where he was appointed in December, 2012. Shavliashvili, 30, will be the second-youngest cabinet member; the youngest one is Interior Minister Alexandre Tchikaidze who is 29.

“He led the department of roads with success and I think that he too will be a very successful minister,” Garibashvili said of Shavliashvili.

Otar Danelia, nominee for the agriculture minister, was appointed as first deputy minister of agriculture in April, 2014. Before that he served as head of the Interior Ministry’s Service Agency for few months and was deputy head of logistics department at the Interior Ministry since 2013.

“I am sure that with his creativity and motivation will lead the Agriculture Ministry with success,” the PM said of Danelia.  

“All the projects initiated under my predecessor will continue, plus all those projects that the country has to implement as part of the commitments under the Association Agreement with the EU,” Danelia said.

Nominee for the state minister for diaspora, Gela Dumbadze, has served at various positions in the Foreign Ministry since 1998, among them was head of the department for diaspora in 2005-2007. He served at the Georgian embassies in Azerbaijan, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Dumbadze was appointed as deputy state minister for diaspora in June, 2014.

PM Garibashvili announced about cabinet reshuffle on July 21, affecting seven government members with two of them switching to other cabinet posts and other five losing seats in the cabinet.

On July 21 PM Garibashvili named prison system minister Sozar Subari for the post of the minister for internally displaced persons and accommodation, replacing Davit Darakhvelidze.

Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Elguja Khokrishvili, who was appointed on this post in April, was nominated for the post of the Minister of Environment Protection, replacing Khatuna Gogaladze.

Other ministers, who have lost posts in the cabinet along with Darakhvelidze and Gogaladze, are: Agriculture Minister Shalva Pipia; Minister of Culture Guram Odisharia and State Minister for Diaspora Konstantine Surguladze.

“We have very efficient government and this reshuffle serves to make it even more efficient and to rectify in the shortest period of time all the shortcomings observed in any of the structure,” the PM added.