Adjarian parliament approved Levan Varshalomidze on July 20 as the Chairman of the Autonomous Republic’s Government.

Levan Varshalomidze chaired the Interim Council of Adjara during the direct presidential rule imposed on the region after the peaceful ouster of Adjarian ex-leader Aslan Abashidze in early May.

“He [Levan Varshalomidze] is young and energetic and he knows how to work in the region where huge number of problems persist,” President Saakashvili told reporters in Batumi on July 20, after he nominated Varshalomidze.